A New Leaf

I've blogged a bit about feeling physically crappy of late, you know those 'downer' and 'boring' posts. Those ones.

Anyhoo, as part of a new resolve I'm making some diet changes and trying a few things to see if I have any other food intolerances or allergies. First cab off the rank is ditching wheat. It may not be an issue for me, but I figure if I ditch the main ingredient in two of my favourite food groups - the Pizza food group and the Pasta food group - then I'm kind of forcing myself to change bad habits, right?

It may be coincidence, because I've only been off wheat since Friday, or it may be that I've just been eating a much more healthy diet in generall over the past few days, but I feel great. Really great.


Saturday night dinner: Greek Haloumi fried in a light spray of olive oil, with a chopped salad of cucumber, spanish onion, cherry tomatoes, mung bean shoots and capsicum (bell pepper), dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, italian herbs and balsamic vinegar.

Sunday night I repeated the chopped salad, but with a piece of grilled fish and some dark rye bread on the side. I don't want to eat too much dairy, because I know that I'm lactose intolerant, but some cheese every now and then and yoghurt seems to be fine.


Dessert: kiwi fruit and green apple.


Breakfast for the past few mornings: Bircher muesli (untoasted organic muesli, grated apple and no-fat organic yoghurt - left to soak overnight in the 'fridge, and gets better with age!)

So it has been an interesting exercise. Too early really to tell if I've discovered the evil voodoo curse that has been making me feel bad, but I'm certainly eating better than I was a week ago! I've also discovered some gems, like Carman's muesli. OHMIGOD. I bought the Natural Blend Muesli and made the Bircher muesli recipe on the side of the pack. So good it makes me want to claw at myself in pleasure. Really.

So there you have it. I don't want to be one of those people who are ruled by allergies, I mean, I'm high maintenance enough as it is, right? But it feels good to be more pro-active about eating better and I really do feel less bloated and more energetic this morning. Time will tell.

I Ride The Short Bus Because I'm Special

I had one of the most interesting, challenging, involving and fantastic movie experiences today. I went to see Shortbus (offical movie site) by John Cameron Mitchell. I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it especially speaks to those of us in the audience on the fringes of the 'mainstream'.



One quote I read about the film was from a reviewer who said they were more enchanted by the film than confronted by it. I have to agree. It's quite a roller coaster ride, and I'm glad that I'm going to see it again sometime in the following week, so I can absorb more of it.

Everyone is especially hung up about the sex in the film, so let's address that first. I was quite taken aback by the degree of explicitness. Not negatively, but it isn't something we are used to seeing in a mainstream theatre, and especially not bracketed by a real story and people who can act. Trust me, there is certainly little or no fakery here, the actors are having real sex and we get to see everything. It's interesting, the sex does give you a jolt at first but then you kind of adjust your expectations and it becomes less intrusive - or at least, that was my personal experience of it.

So although it kind of throws you off balance at times, what I felt it did was humanise the story and the actors. It's involving, and more 'real' than a soft fade to black when the pants start coming off. It's also shocking, titilating and funny at times. The film manages to be both deep and incredibly superficial, grittily real and dreamlike, all with in a few seconds of itself. Yet, for me anyway, it works.

One prime example is a character who at first seems like a vain self-absorbed pretty boy, which he is, but then in one of the most moving scenes in the film he shows his kindness and loving heart. He can be, and is, both of those things. Which is an unusually 3D message in what is normally a 2D medium.

Ultimately it's a very warm hearted film about connecting and relationships, about diversity and about the joyousness of sex. This is probably the most radical message of all, in a world that seems to be polarising into increased rights and acceptance on one side, and increased conservatism and denying of diversity on the other.

As well as the offical movie site, the Shortbus Salon cast and crew blog has some interesting snippets about the cast and crew, and the promoting of the film. Worth a look.

Channel 7 Is Messing With My Head

If you've read this blog for a while you'll know that I'm obsessed with the tv show "The Amazing Race". (I know I probably just lost half the readers of this entry with that opening line. Those of you still here, scooch your chairs in a little closer and let's make a smaller circle.)

BTW - I haven't linked to it because I'm avoiding spoilers, m'kay?! Duh.

The latest season of the show started in the US like 5 weeks ago, or something. Now, in the past Channel 7 have screened the show a few weeks behind the US. It's annoying and it means I have to try and avoid reading US blog posts that give away who gets knocked off each episode. (OK, just lost a few more. Spread out a bit kids, if you need more room.) Channel 7 have screened every season of the show, with the exception of the generally considered lame-ass "Family" edition that screened in the US ages ago.

Leap forward and see me realise that Channel 7 have scheduled "The Amazing Race" into the programs for this week. See me do the Happy Dance. See me think "well, 5 weeks behind or whatever but at least we are getting it!". See me turn on the show and then see me realise they are screening the lame-ass Family edition instead of the current season.

THAT is what crestfallen looks like.

Stylin'

I followed this woman and her companion for three Newtown blocks, until I could get close enough to take a picture of her shoes. Don't ever tell my I'm not committed to my art.



This sums up so much about Newtown to me. The stab at a personal style that bucks the trend. The pavers that have replaced regular bitumen footpaths in an attempt at gentrification. (I kind of like the pavers, don't get me wrong.) Oh, and ciggie butt in the bottom right corner that I cropped out of the frame.

I used a technique referred to as "shooting from the hip" for this. Although in this instance I guess it's "shooting the hipster from the hip". A discreet way of shooting when you don't want the subject to realise. Instead of bringing the camera up to your eye, you hold it down near your body somewhere (actual hip optional), aim in the general direction, say a prayer to the Gods Of Autofocus and hope for the best. Any composition flaws can often be fixed by cropping, but miss the focus and you're screwed. Out of a few frames I got this one, so fortunately - not screwed.

Can I Get A Cold Compress And A Sponge Bath From T.R. Knight?

The doctor's visit didn't supply a lot of hard data on the subject of my currently feeling shite, although it seems that my situation is likely the combination of a couple of things. A bad sinus infection was confirmed (as I suspected) and a mystery 'virus' assumed. The virus seems have almost worked its way out of my system, and I'm not getting the degree of overheated and achey feelings that I was getting. The sinus infection though is a real corker, and is still making me feel like crap. I've started treatment for it so fortunately my future (and yours) should blessedly contain few "I feel like shite" entries.

A couple of kind souls suggested trying to cut out wheat from my diet, to see if that makes a difference. This sounds hard but not impossible. I'm actually thinking it would be an interesting challenge, I mean so long as I still get to eat (modified) pasta and pizza every now and then, I'm in. Plus Gluten Free is so hot right now! Oh, and as Morgan said in an email; exercise, exercise, exercise. I will admit to being a tad less enthusiastic about that one at present... I know, I KNOW. Suck it up and get moving.

I've decided to cancel my plan to go to the big cocktail party my friends in Canberra are throwing this weekend. It's disappointing, as it's a great event held every year, but I don't feel like pushing it to do the 3 hours of travel each way. Plus any crash space alternatives would add a layer of cat allergy over my current sinus issues, or entail the expense of a hotel. I just don't feel like being away from the comfort of my own bed at present, and the late night and excess of a cocktail party is probably best avoided.

See, see how much of a grown up I can be sometimes! Sometimes.

What that does do is free up my weekend. So long as I feel a bit better, I should be free to head to the Newtown Festival and catch up with the lovely folk of the Newtown Flickrazzi. One of the things I'm looking forward to at the Festival is the Writers' Tent. Specifically the session of getting published. I know, I'd have to actually write something vaguely book-like in order to get said book-like object published... but I can dream, can't I?

Testing, Testing

I woke up and felt like crap this morning, so decided to take the day off and finally do something about the way I've been feeling for the past week. Remember the post where I said I felt old? Well, on some days recently I've felt kind sick too. Achey all over, and headachey in particlular. Almost like I've had a low-grade fever or am in the process of coming down with some sort of bug, but then it never turned into anything. I personally think it's a combination of allergies and a really bad sinus infection, and the doc thinks this is the likely culprit too. I got some tests done to find out, and I'm expecting it to be sinus mostly.

On the upside it gave me an excuse to lie on the couch and watch screwball comedies from the 1930s and '40s. Gotta love that.

Husband, Father, Raging Hypocrite

This is the worst form of hypocrisy, don't you think? Sure, sexuality is complicated and not easily black or white for many people. Sure, some people find themselves trapped into a situation (like marriage for instance) because of fear, circumstance, indecision or expectation. Sure, if you are raised in a strictly religious Christian background then confusion, expectation and fear might be increased. (I say "might" because I dont want to infer that all strict Christians are intolerant of difference.)

But you know what? If you stand up and add your voice to the chorus of those seeking to deny rights to gay people, while paying a gay sex worker every month for 3 years then you are worthy of scorn and being labelled the worst kind of hypocrite. How many conscious decisions did it take to keep that secret Ted? How many times did you lie to your family, cover your tracks, make the phone calls for sex, and for drugs? You can pretend that you were "weak", but this isn't a minor slip we are talking about. This took planning and hundreds, maybe thousands, of lies.

I read the quote from his letter where he says "There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life." On one hand I find that incredibly sad, that degree of self-loathing. On the other hand, he isn't just talking about the drugs and the sex workers here, they're comparatively recent guests at the party, he's talking about homosexuality as well. Dark. Repulsive. By association he tars me with that same brush.

So I say, Pastor Haggard... fuck you, you self-loathing, lying scumbag.

Magic Carpet Ride

It's that time of year again. Jacaranda time:



One of my favourite times of the year. Around my neighbourhood lots of the streets and laneways are carpeted in a brief magic carpet. A couple of rainy days and time have started to turn the blossoms to mush, but it's magical while it lasts.

Green Thumbs

Every now and then I get it into my head to try something. A little project. Lately I've developed a sudden mania for the concept of gardening, and especially for growing my own food. Maybe it's the first twinges of survivalism, brought on by military tensions and too many episodes of Jericho. Maybe it's the adimiration I have for my favourite blogging homo gardening show presenter. Who can say?



I have a paved courtyard, with some small garden beds that are fully planted out, so I've gone for things that I can grow in pots. I like pots anyway, in a decorative sense. I've used blue glazed ceramic pots of various shades and sizes, and they look nice. No muss no fuss.

The other day I planted Italian Parsley (above), Tom Thumb cherry tomatoes (below) and capsicums (bell peppers). Not exactly enough to make me self sufficient, but the start of a salad at least. Next on the agenda is a chilli plant, more herbs and some salad greens.



When friends of mine moved from an apartment with a large sunny balcony to an apartment with only a tiny one, I inherited their cumquat tree (below). I haven't had a bumper crop from it yet, but I've only had it for a little while. It seems to enjoy my courtyard, which is fairly sunny, and even if there isn't much fruit I enjoy it for it's ornamental value as well. I think I have a recipe somewhere for some sort of marmalade or preserve made with cumquats, but they are too bitter to eat as they are.



I've been a bit lazy with looking after my courtyard. Weeding the beds and stuff. Something which I'm trying to get better at of late. When I moved in it was hard to use it in Summer because there was very little shade. I remember eating lunch al fresco with the home owners (friends of mine) once, before I moved in, and baking in the harsh sun. Now it's surrounded by trees and banana palms in my neighbour's garden, so it still gets a lot of sun but there are shady spots to sit.



There is a tree next door which has been chopped back and regrown like a weed over the years, and is responsible for starting to push over my fence, but it drops these tiny star shaped flowers that pave my courtyard. I kind of like it when it does, even though the tree is a pain in my ass.

I'm enjoying watching the stuff I have planted grow. The tomatoes are growing so fast that it's almost visible from one day to the next. Expect lots of excitable posts when the fruit starts to appear.

Denying Being Closeted Is The New Black

Neil Patrick Harris comes out in a fabulously self-loathing-free statement of fact. Yay! Well done Doogie.

Sculpture By The Sea

On Saturday morning I joined some of my Flickr mates for a trip to the annual Sculpture By The Sea event at Bondi Beach. The public display of 108 sculptures lines the cliff walk between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach, with additional scultptures in the parks along the way. We agreed on a 5am start, in order to see the dawn and get some sunrise photo opportunities.



As it turns out the morning was so overcast, cool and a little rainy that there wasn't much of a dawn to speak of, but the changing light and the cool blue tones of pre-dawn made for a lovely backdrop to the sculptures. One of my favourites was the sculpture above (right) that was covered in frosted glass squares, that tinkled in the stiff dawn sea breeze.



Many of the sculptors took advantage of the sea location, using the strong winds to power kinetic sculptures or to make sound from the breeze.



Other sculptors took the sea theme more literally and made strange and fantastic sea creatures, or strange objects that looked like sea-wrack from another world.



It was a fun morning, we were early enough that the crowds hadn't yet assembled and so were able to take shots of the sculptures uninterrupted. There was pretty much just ourselves, and some of the local residents out walking their dogs or jogging. We rounded out the morning with breakfast at a Bondi cafe, with coffee, eggs and good conversation. Having risen at 4am I was a little tired for the rest of the day, but it was a really fun way to spend the morning and I'm glad I went.

Meet Rex Ray: The Ex-Gay

From the inspired mind of Mrs Betty Bowers (America's Best Christian) and her caring outreach program BASH (Baptists Are Saving Homesexuals) I bring you Rex Ray: The Ex-Gay.

I laughed so hard I almost peed myself a little bit.

Snippets

• If you think dressing up a dog in purple sparkly horns is bad, then cry bitter tears for the Former Congressman Chuckles and his parade of Star Wars Hallowe'en costumes.
  
• Remember all the Hooray Henry's & Caroline's of the 1980's? Like me, did you ever buy Tatler magazine just to see the pictures of pretty young things with titles behaving badly? Check out the photos by English society photographer Dafydd Jones. Including a really YIKES! pic of Anna Nicole Smith, Nigella Lawson having a spiffing hoot of a time and a winsome young Hugh Grant. Check out the archives for more jolly japes.
  
• This boy disproves the theory that all English toffs are weak chins and unfortunate teeth. Yummy.
  
• As much as I love this bookshelf I would need like 30, or maybe 40, of them, which would be expensive, sort of defeat the purpose, and leave me with no wall space. If you own about 12 books, you might want to consider getting a couple. Neat idea though.

Pissy

Sometimes it helps to talk about these things, you know? Get them off your chest. Vent. Throw a bit of drama.

I'm not having a good morning:

I splept badly last night, dog tired when I went to bed and then *bing* wide awake when my head hit the pillow. It took me a bit longer than normal to get to sleep and then a night of tossing and turning ensued.

I missed my train. It was on the platform while the woman in front of me in the queue for the ticket machine fiddled in her purse for change, only to then cancel the transaction because she didn't have enough coin. I managed to buy my ticket, but then a young guy with his iPod cranked up was obliviously walking slowly down the steps to the platform, holding up a queue of people behind him trying to get past and make the train. I got to it just as the doors shut. (You can believe that I shot some very un-Buddhist mindwaves of slow burning contempt in his direction. My bad.)

I had to walk to work in the rain.

I got to the office only to remember that my boss was having a day off, that some of the other staff are on a training session and the only other staff member was the part-timer due in at 9.30. I don't have a key. I sat outside and read my book ("The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Attwood) thinking a 45 minute wait would be ok. The part-timer was an hour late.

So here I am, and the phone's ringing off the hook with one problem after another... just pray the coffee machine is still working because otherwise it's going to get ugly.

Advancing Years

I mentioned yesterday about feeling a bit blech, about being tired and having sinus & allergy symptoms. One thing kind of struck me this morning as I was doing the 20 minute trudge from the nearest train station to my office. This week - I feel old. Or older at least. I've been sleeping alright, but waking up still feeling tired. During my walks this week I've been noticing discomfort in my knees. This morning as I surveyed the bags under my eyes I briefly considered "Just how much is 'too much' to pay for a quality eye cream?". Trimming my beard this morning I noticed more greys, and looking at recent photos of myself I can see the ageing (and of late) the extra pounds.

I usually don't feel old, and I'm always passing for younger than 42, so everything from the forebrain on back knows that I'm doing alright for 42. Having said that, and knowing that this is a temporary psychological aberration, it's still a bit sobering. It's a wonderful lesson in ego grasping in particular.

Making new friends only to discover they are 13, 15 or 20 years younger is likewise a bit sobering. I remember the promise of being 29, 27, 22. Don't get me wrong, 42 is not ancient and decrepid, but I understand why people often have a crisis in their 40's. Aside from trying to accept the physical changes, it's also surveying the current state of affairs and thinking a) Is this it? and b) Where to from here? and c) Realistically, my options are being scaled back.

Yikes, this sounds maudlin. It's not meant to be.

Making peace with ageing is important I think, and a part of that is looking at it realistically and being truthful about it. I'm sure next week, with more sleep and an improved sinus situation, I'll feel less tired and ancient than I do this week, but it's also worthwhile to notice the physical changes of ageing and roll with the punches. That doesn't rule out fighting back however, I mean some of the eye creams on the market now are fabulous, right?

It's Pronounced 'Pump-kin' Not 'Punkin'

Looking at the creativity that some people use in carving Hallowe'en "Jack O' Lanterns" makes me wish that it was a bigger tradition here in OZ. To give me another excuse to get my Martha on.

Here's a sampling of cool ones found today on Flickr:

• Serves you right Mr Ate Too Much
  
• A concept which is quite popular
  
• Cute alien
  
• An awesome Homer eating his way out
  
• Summon the Kraken! (More cool ones in the same theme)
  
• Exterminate!
  
• An incredible Dorothy & The Scarecrow
  

These are just some of my faves, there's a Jack O' Lantern group on Flickr, with more great designs and some great ideas for next year.

(The title of this post refers to an old flatmate of mine, who could not pronounce the word "pumpkin" if her life depended on it. So, of course, I engineered every possible opportunity possible to get her to say her version - "punkin". I'm so mean.)

Blech(ish)

Feeling a bit off-colour today, not sick, just a bit of blocked sinus and some tiredness. Lacking in spark, shall we say. So I'm going to go back to typing up the endless boring envelopes that is my current task, continue to snack on the fresh blueberries and bag of fresh lychees I have on my desk, and you should probably go find someone interesting to read.

Go on. Come back later, when the spark's relit.

Subject: You May Want To Read This

A late afternoon email conversation between myself and Mikey (the lovely ex)

Subject: You may want to read this

Mikey: www.smh.com.au/news/people/halloween-jab-at-irwin

Me: Yeah, I saw it earlier today.

Mikey: You filthy disgusting worm with no respect...

Me: Present.

Mikey: In other news, Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon have split, so Ryan is on the market again and that's good...

Me: Oddly, I thought of you when I read that.

Mikey: I don't think that's odd. I have been mistaken in the street for Ryan many times.

Me: Err, RIGHT.

Mikey: Yes, odd that they all seemed to be carrying canes, walking dogs and wearing dark glasses. I presumed they were all from some sort of weird religious cult which worshipped the "54" star.

Me: The 5'4" star? Hey, that's me!

Mikey: 5'4"... sure?

Me: What, you think I'm tinier than that? Or bigger? Bigger, right? It's on account of the huge personality, I get that all the time.

Mikey: I plead the common law privilege against self-incrimination...

Me: Coward.

Your Life On The Lawn

There is some sort of council rubbish collection on in the street where our office is located, and consequently the footpaths are piled with people's discards. It's kind of fascinating. None of it is worthy of a Curbside Salvage run, it really is junk. Broken pot plant pots, a single battered work boot, 2 cupboard doors (sans cupboard) - that sort of thing.

It's interesting to see if you can guess what the junk's previous owners are like though. One pile had some discarded soft toys in it - children grown maybe?, or the toys out-grown?, or too battered and grimy to be hygenic anymore? One pile had two appliance boxes in it; a 'mini stepper' home gym thing and a 'dynamic bullet' small food processor/juicer contraption. The sort of cheap quality appliances that are advertised on late night infomercials, promising all sort of life changing benefits for just three low monthly payments.

I like to think of it as an exercise in Urban Haruspicy".

Cute Overload

devil dog
Originally uploaded by image415.

OK, I know some people take issue with dressing dogs up and making them look silly, but this is just too darn cute and amusing. This gorgeous pup belongs to image415 on Flickr, her name is Maddie, and she makes the cutest little devil ever.

Weekend Recap

Monday morning seems to be as good a time as any for two of my favourite things, introspection and The Internets. So in the spirit of navel gazing and work avoidance, I bring another of the semi-regular weekend recaps.

Saturday morning I woke up kind of grumpy, not terribly so, but just working a bit of a "got out of the wrong side of the bed" sort of stizz. I took myself off to a cafe nearby for a mood adjusting breakfast with coffee and the paper, which went a long way towards adjusting said grumpiness. It was Haircut Day, which is always mood enhancing, although this time that was dented a bit by having a cut that is a bit shorter than I asked for and a small price hike that pushes the cost of a cut into the Hard To Justify category in my head.

Afterwards I spent a little bit of time finishing the painting on my poor taste Hallowe'en costume, ironing the rest of my costume and pottering around the house. Morgan came by about 6.30pm and we headed off to Web-Goddess's Hallowe'en Party. I had a really great time, despite deciding to wear a pair of boots that are cripplingly tight and yet always manage to give me blisters. A factor that really came into play on the walk home, meaning that I had to abandon that plan about halfway and get the bus.

Yesterday morning I pottered around the house doing odd bits of housework, reading the paper, having a leisurely breakfast... the usual Sunday morning things. After lunch Mikey (the lovely ex) and I went to see "Little Miss Sunshine" at a nearby cinema, which I really enjoyed. A very sweet film, and laugh-out-loud funny in some spots. We rounded off the afternoon with a couple of beers at The Newtown Hotel, before heading our separate ways in the early evening. A night of being glued to the tv with a pizza ensued, first "Australian Idol" and then the "ARIA Australian Music Awards". I had good plans to go to bed early and compensate for the switch to Daylight Savings Time, but an encore performance of the first episode of Tripping Over (which I missed the first time around) put a stop to that plan. I mean, two words: Daniel. MacPherson.

Exhibit A:


So very cute.

Hallowe'en

Here are some pics from the fantastic Hallowe'en party given by Web-Goddess & The Snook on Saturday night. As Kris said the standard and creativity of the costuming on the night was great, the food was yummy (even if not always palatable looking!) and a great night was had by all.

Kris's mom had sent over a bunch of Hallowe'en treats from the US again this year. This time I steered clear of the Marshmallow Peeps (gross) and tried Candy Corn for the first time (underwhelming, I'm sad to say). After The Snook shared the knowledge that Peeps puff up to enormous proportions if you microwave them, Miss Helen kept sneaking into the kitchen to prove the story true.

Festive decorations (left) and Amy (the Music Pirate) with sheriff Miss Helen of Spycore (right). Helen is brave enough to try the grossness that is Marshmallow Peeps.



Jane (left) as Emily Howard (The Not Very Good Transvestite) from Little Britain and Amy & Rob (right) as a Music Pirate and a Corporate Pirate.



It's a Matter of of taste. Morgan eats eyeball (left) while I tuck into a witch's finger (right). Oh, and yes, the finger was delicious - it's my costume that's in poor taste.



More of Kris's pictures are here, and here are all the pictures I have posted so far.

Bevelled & Fractured

Why you should always take a camera into the mensroom.



A self portrait from last night's Flickr meet with the Sydney Photobloggers.

Fonts I Would Like To See

Studz Extra Bold

Studz Extended

Ashtonand Demi ITC

Bruce Sans Demi

Lucida Sans Underwear

Monobrow Corsica

Rapp'n Old Style

The Totally Awesome Corner Store

Where my office has relocated to is a suburb that is largely small apartment buildings and private homes, with a sort of middle to lower income and multi-ethnic mix. The main shopping strip which is a 5 minute walk down the street, has a Korean video store, a shop called "Little Persia" and a Greek cafe, as well as the usual "Cheescake Shop", KFC and other fast food chains. What it is short on is a convenience store or deli.

Or so I thought, until I changed my walking route this morning and discovered the Totally Awesome Corner Store just a few small blocks from here. It's like a treasure trove of delights, the likes of which I haven't seen since the visits I made to John Martin's department store "Magic Cave" as a child, or whatched vintage "Ali Baba" films.

On entry to the Totally Awesome Corner Store one is assaulted by a bunch of stimuli. The heady blend includes:

1. loud (but not unpleasant) Turkish music
   
2. the smell of very strong (and probably very good) coffee
   
3. a large and extremely well groomed man behind the counter, with a king's ransom of gold jewellery on and a big friendly smile
   
4. a gushing fountain/grotto/water feature (inside!)
   
5. a mirrored mural complete with hookah pipes and camels
   
6. a large table piled high with all sorts of exotica - unusual candied things, fantastical looking spicy snacks, bags of things that look like dried carrot strips and cartons of biscuits with indecipherable names and sand dune graphics

Past that there are Mars Bars and tins of beans, like all corner stores, but my oh my those chocolate bars and everyday comestibles take on an exotic glamour! Second impressions include the fact that the store is really well organised and scrupulously clean. Quite obviously not just a source of income, but a source of pride as well.

I think I'm in love.

It's Gettin' Hot In Here...

...so take off (almost) all your clothes.



An out-take from my photo shoot with the very sweet and sexy Steve last night. Manipulated slightly (the image, not Steve) to darken it, add some 'noise' and deepen the contrast. I'm fairly pleased with the result, although I did get some better pics. I'm submitting one into a competition on Flickr, and once that has been judged I'll share that one here - my favourite pic from the night. I'll also post a few more from the evening on Flickr.

I like Steve's left hand in this pic, not the one going the grab but the one on the arm of the chair. I like the modelling of the shadows and the strong masculine look of the hand. If I took this again I'd change the pose slightly to get Steve to scooch his hips forward, taking a little of the slump out the posture and eliminating the crease mark across his belly, and I'd work on changing the shadows a bit too. Still, for a first attempt at this sort of photography I'm pretty happy with some of the results, and as I said I'll share a few better pics once the competition closes (at the end of the month).

Sorry I Haven't Posted In A While...

Attention fellow bloggers. Need an excuse for inaction? Try one of these on for size.

Curiously, not one says "The dog ate my blog."

[Link via kottke.]

On The Air

A few days short of three weeks, and finally my office is fully connected to the outside world. Rejoice! The only problem is, three weeks of working at about 25% capacity has made me kinda lazy. But if I reach about 40% capacity today, then that's a massive improvement, right? See how that works?

I must remember to mention that, should I ever have a performance appraisal.

A Few Puerile Moments

It's not beyond me to go for the cheap laugh, you know that, right?


Oh, my too!


Oddly, this isn't a dry cleaning store.

Signs seen when out walking with my camera; a fabric store in Parramatta (top) and a women's clothing store in Chinatown (bottom).

Ruby

I saw this gorgeous little creature sitting on her owner's lap at a sidewalk cafe in Newtown on Sunday, and just had to get a picture. Asking people if you can take their picture is hard, it taps into my big store of shyness, but appreciating something that they feel proud of, a pet say, or their personal style, goes a long way to being an icebreaker.



It's a curious thing, this taking pictures. The camera can create a wall between yourself and other people sometimes, but at other times it creates a bridge to communication. Ruby's owner was quite happy for me to take her picture, and while I did he opened up about how he came to rescue Ruby from the pound. When he rescued her she had 2 broken back legs, possibly from having been thrown from a moving vehicle. She's at least part Chinese Crested, with probably some Chihuahua mixed in, with little odd tufts of hair here and there and a couple of bald spots. It's this slightly grizzled charm that makes him sometimes address her as "Monty Burns".

We chatted for about 5 minutes and it was a really lovely moment. There was obviously a lot of love between the two of them and I felt a little bit privileged to be let into their world, if only for 5 minutes.

5 Curiosities About My Weekend

1. In the course of taking photographs I told 2 straight men (on different occasions) that they were "pretty". Judging by their reactions I'd say it was the first time for both of them.
   
2. One of the guys was showing off his sexy back and naked ass at the time.
   
3. If you arrange a photo shoot with someone who kindly offers to strip for you, so you can try your hand at arty nudes for the first time, it will most definately not work to conquer the shyness if the girlfriend is standing by (see point 2). Nor will it work if they are so late that you miss the light, and the only halfway decent light in their dark house is in the kitchen.
   
4. Someone anonymously left me a gift of an electronic pest deterrant device on my front doorstep, with a note about Buddhist vows and care for all sentient beings, including rats. a) It was a kind gesture, b) I never had any intention of harming the rat (not seen again since anyway) but c) Given that it was anonymous and Bodhi & I don't recognise the handwriting and this person knows where I live and reads the blog, I sincerely hope it's from a friend and not a kind minded stalker.
   
5. I met another group of photographers on Friday night, this time at the first get-together of the "Newtown" group on Flickr. I'm beginning to realise that a shared interest, like photography, really can transcend barriers of race, gender, age and sexuality. I had a blast.
   

I'm Resisiting The Impulse To Title This Post "Gay's Anatomy"

Andy Towle is the author of my favourite blog about all things newsworthy to we of the homosexualist persuation, Towleroad. He has just posted about the recent announcement by little puppy-dog-eyes cutie T.R. Knight, "George" of the tv show "Grey's Anatomy", that he's gay.



Sadly it's still quite a big thing for a well known actor to come out these days, although the more who do the easier it should get. So T.R. I salute you. Bravo sweetie.

What makes the story even more interesting is that the catalyst for him coming out is that he was allegedly indirectly the cause of a feud between (my future husband) Patrick Dempsey and actor Isaiah Washington. Washington reportedly used a gay slur about T.R. Knight in an argument with Dempsey. Thereby getting every queen in the tv industry offside, in a spectacularly bad career move.

You know what this means. At risk of overstating it, and perhaps bringing in a strong dose of wishful thinking, it means that Dempsey stood up for Knight. He is making me love him. I am powerless to resist. Patrick & Andrew has a lovely ring to it, non?

Dark Materials

Yesterday I blogged about the fact that on Thursday I was stuck in the office, alone, completely cut off from the outside world (can you tell I'm still scarred by the incident?) and dropped into the post the aside that I read a novel. That novel happened to be the rather fine and entertaining new novel by Stephen McCauley called "Alternatives To Sex".

Let's ponder that title for a moment before we move on shall we?... I'm guessing it's ironic, because I'm stumped for an alternative. Not one. Nup. Nada. Anyone?

Oh, and yes Stephen McCauley wrote the wonderful novel "The Object Of My Affection" that was then turned into a less than wonderful film by the same name. Saved only by the appearance on screen of the very delicious Paul Rudd. (As seen below in a still from the movie, accompanied by an unknown mystery woman, probably an extra.)



Although, I prefer to think of him more like this (slightly NSFW if you work for a Big Christian Charity, but the rest of you should be fine).

Anyhoo, having finished said book I was in the market for another book (desperately so, otherwise I would have been reduced to organising and perhaps even alphabeticising the rubber gloves/disposable aprons/incontinence pads cupboard). Only a block and a half from my new office is a surprisingly good second-hand bookstore and I purchased the 'young adult fiction'* novel "Northern Lights", the first in the "His Dark Materials" series. Loving it.

I know it's kind of a futile debate, comparing one author to another, but although I enjoyed for the most part the Harry Potter books, this is much more my style. Darker. Gothic-y.

So the novel is particularly in my forebrain at the moment, given that I'm around two-thirds of the way through it. I was very pleased to spot, via Web-Goddess, that there are a bunch of sneak peek pics online of the upcoming movie. Looks good, pretty close to the way I imagined the scenes to look. Hopefully it will follow the recent tradition of thoughtful adaptations and stay close to the book. The book isn't huge and is quite well paced, so should hopefully not require significant trimming to fit into a cinematic format. Cool.

* That's me, right? Young adult? I chose to believe so, I mean, if they are going to bandy those terms around without specifying their parameters then it's open to interpretation, if you ask me.

AWOL

Hey there chickens, remember me? Not that I'm inferring you all have ADD-like short attention spans or something, but I automatically assume out of sight out of mind, you know?

I still don't have any computer network access, fax or internet at my office. Can you even imagine? Yesterday they hooked us up with a temporary phone line, and given that I was in the office alone (like all on my own with nothing to do and nobody to talk to) you can believe I worked that phone for the rest of the afternoon. Were it not for the fact that I work for a Big Christian Charity you can also believe that I'd be hitting the 1800-HOTGUYS4U or 1800-HOTJOCKS, *cough* or whatever they're called, just to liven up the afternoon. (Can you imagine the apoplexy if they saw that on the phone bill?) Instead I read an entire novel, re-labelled all my already neat files, arranged and rearranged everything... rivetting, non?

By the time I've gotten home from a long exhaustive day of filing my nails, writing To Do Lists for the next 10 years of my life, and making a detailed plan on how to form a loving lasting relationship with Justin Theroux, I've been too exhausted to blog from home. Not to mention the fact that I have an ENORMOUS and engaging social life right now.

Today I've gone into another office for a couple of hours, so my first thought of course is you. It's all you, and only you in my world, you know that. Oh, except for the big chunk that's all about me, of course.

Footnotes & Addenda On Previous Posts

1. Since I wrote about being largely unmoved by the film of "Rent" I went back and watched the commentary on the DVD, and the deleted scenes, and re-watched some of it. I blubbed during the alternate ending for the film, and actually enjoyed the bits I re-watched a lot more the second time around. I still don't think the film is all that great, but it's nice to know I don't completely have a cold, dead heart, right?
   
2. No scuttling, scrabbling or sudden 'corner of the eye' movement seems to indicate that my recent visitor is gone. And I know what you're thinking - but it's been hot and so far no smell, so I'm pretty sure he/she didn't bite the big one under my dishwasher, at least I really hope so.
   
3. As it turns out I was maybe a little premature in saying that it was
   already hot at 10am yesterday because it climbed to 38C by late afternoon. HOT.

It's Getting Hot In/Out Here

33C (91F in old money) at 10am, on a Spring morning? Good thing there's no truthiness in this Global Warming thing, right?

A Short(ish) Post On A Theme Of Eating & Drinking

I was of a mood to go out for a few bevvies last night and be in the company of my fellow homosexualists, so I rang up my friend Bernard* and arranged to meet at The Newtown Hotel. I hadn't eaten, and we all know that drinking on an empty stomach is a doubleplusungood shortcut to potential embarassment, so I heid off down the road into Newtown proper to grab something to eat. Newtown is well populated with restaurants and take-away joints, and I had a mind to try the taqueria that is So Hot Right Now. Unfortunately it turned out to also be So Packed Right Now with a queue right out the door. For tacos! Who knew?

I settled on Thai from the vegetarian Thai place. I normally avoid food that masquerades as something else, you know? "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" for starters. This Thai place specialises in bbq 'pork' and red curry 'chicken', to name just a few dishes. I threw caution to the wind and tucked into some I Can't Believe It's Not Peppered Beef and I Can't Believe It's Not Duck. Actually, very yummy, although in the back of my mind I was trying to fgure out just how you would make tofu etc resemble these things. The texture was spot on for starters. Sometimes I think too much, I decided.

Afterwards I saw the face of God, or at least had some sort of epiphany. Who knew that the one thing that had been missing from my life, that would make me whole and complete, would be... Green Apple & Ginger gelato. Thank you Jeebus! It was a stinking hot night and inside my mouth it was like a chilly perfect green apple, with a bit of zing.

I met up with Bernard and chanced upon a few other friends and we had a series of beverages at The Newtown, played Who's Cute? for a bunch of hours and watched a couple of generally disappointing drag shows. Bernard's boy (Seven Foot) Stewie had finished final dress rehearsal for the opera he is singing in (we're real gay 'round these parts) and was home, so Bernard and I went back to their place with a kilo of mixed chocolate icecream and a 6 pack of beers to hang out for a while. I could have done without the beer in hindsight, but you would have had to walk over my cold dead body to wrestle that bowl of 4 kinds of chocolate icecream from my hands. Just so you know. Bernard lives close by and I headed home about 1.30(ish), it wasn't too late a night. Good times.

* Oh, I know. The bitch could update that thing once in a while.

so anyways...

who around here thinks that two back-to-back double espressos is too much coffee because i'd really like someone to tell me if it really is or if i'm just making this up because it kind of feels like maybe i should have stopped at the first one oh and that's right i had a cup of instant too which i forgot about or at least tried to black out of my memory because it was kinda gross but what can you expect from instant anyway right?...

You Dirty Rat

I almost didn't post about this because I don't want you all to get the wrong idea about my living conditions, but here goes anyway...

I've posted a bit about my house here and there over the years, not enough to clue in any stalkers of course, but little tid bits. It's a tiny cottage, the sort that was inexpensive worker housing when it was originally built, in an inner city suburb of Sydney. Think the classic Sydney terrace house, but only a single story (if that helps). In the past 30 or so years my suburb has gone through the classic inner-city renewal, and like mine most of the homes in my street have been renovated and added to over the years. A living room and bathroom extension which was done by my landlords prior to my moving in has meant that it is still a fairly small house, but it's nice and comfortable. Some original features, polished floorboards etc, but modernised.

So, my point is that yes it's an old house but it ain't no filthy pit.

Anyhoo, I think I've set the scene. So last night I was watching tv,
Jamie's Kitchen to be exact (about the lead up to the opening of Fifteen in Melbourne) when I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. A sort of scuttle. Two seconds later I was squealing like a virgin at a prison rodeo, as a rat quickly turned tail and shot back out of my living room into the kitchen. A rat. In my kitchen

My house has a few draughty gaps here and there where the old house meets the newer extension, ones that have been plugged as they've been discovered. Little hidden places where the creature might have found a tiny hole to squeeze through. I have had very little problem with any kind of pest, so it's not a regular occurance by any stretch of the imagination. The rat just got lucky, or unlucky perhaps.

So anyway, cue freak-out. I used to have a pet rat many years ago, and I think they are prefectly lovely creatures, but the idea of a wild one running through my house does freak me out. To make matters worse, post freak-out he (or she) must have managed to squeeze themselves somehow under the baseboards of my kitchen cupboards. Yup, I could hear it scrabbling around in there - but a cautious opening of all the cupboards revealed nothing. It was like underneath the dishwasher or something.

After an hour of so I then noticed silence. In one respect this is even more daunting, because when I could hear it I at east knew where it was. Best case scenario: it found it's way back out of my house the same way it came in, and it has gone off to live on a nice farm in the country. Worst case scenario: it was elsewhere in the house. Actually, the other bad, bad scenario would be if it had a massive coronary brought on by the shreaking of one very small, but very loud, queen and turned up it's toes - somewhere unreachable. ::shudder::

I inspected the rest of the house and couldn't find it, so eventually I went to bed... but not before I sealed up the gap under my bedroom door with one of those long sausage shaped draught excluders. Now I'm faced with the daunting moral dilemma of whether to buy baits or a trap, just in case it's still alive somewhere. I really don't want to kill it, it has a right to live as much as I do, but I don't like the idea of having it running around in my house. The hygiene of it especially. As it is, my kitchen is about to get the spring clean of a lifetime this weekend.

::shudder::

Anyone got any advice?

I Got The Music In Me

Last night was that precious rarity of late - a quiet night in. Just me and the tv.

I had left the office a couple of hours early, on account of the complete lack of any functioning office equipment meaning that I, well, basically had nothing to do (and normally I'm so thoroughly fine with that so long as My Friend The Internetz is to hand). Working in a new suburb, a new suburb filled with new shops, meant that I was powerless to resist the urge to do some Retail Therapy on the way home. Powerless. Not my fault. Those wily shopkeepers.

Anyhoo, I'm not too proud to admit to trawling the bargain bins of JB Hi-Fi. DVDs are like men, most satisfying when they're cheap and easy to lay your hands on. I missed seeing Rent when it was on at the movies here earlier this year, and never saw the stage musical, so when I saw it at like 75% off the original price I couldn't resist. Plus, you know, it being a musical and me being a big musical loving homo, plus the praise it got from other big homos, my curiosity was piqued.

I wouldn't say it blew exactly, but I struggled to get into it and was kinda underwhelmed. Don't start hating on me for not loving it - I'll give it another watch without prejudice, and try and picture myself in a darkened theatre with a full Big Gay Audience (and a Big Gay Cast), and see if my opinion is revised. Maybe I'll try a new drinking game, and do a shot everytime the lipsynching in the film is really, really obvious.

I would be very drunk by the closing credits.

Keeping to the evening's theme of music, I then tuned in to see who was voted off the island on Australian Idol, and of course the general public (aka 14 year old girls with mobile phone accounts and a serious case of texting induced thumb strain) again got it wrong. One of the best voices in the comp gone whilst the obvious choice to go, a teenage girl who has forever tunelessly wrecked my passion for the song "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, gets to sit on the Big Ugly Couch until next week. Ech, whatever.

The musical portion of the evening concluded and then it was on to The Biggest Loser. My verdict? Quite a moving and satisfying episode; what with the care packages from home, the missing out on the care packages from home, the lovefest on the Blue Team, the surprise loss (and subsequent lesson in over confidence) for the Blue Team. Grand themes.

I'm kind of gobsmacked at the numbers these people are losing though. I mean, I know 'water weight' and all that, but the numbers are HUGE. Can that be healthy? And, how can I get some of that action? Healthy or not. Trainer Bob I need you, seriously. Speaking of which, he just gets hotter to me every darn week - even with the mullet.

Afterwards I was channel surfing and saw that a gay comedy I saw a while back and enjoyed, the German film Balls, was starting on SBS. So of course I watched it again, staying up way too late and completely blowing my intention of an early night. It's such a sweet film, with two very charismatic leads, and is one of a handful of films I can think of that disprove the prejudice that "German" and "comedy" are words that make strange bedfellows.

Open Day. Open Smiles. Open Hearts.

It's way too early on Monday morning, but I woke up an hour earlier than I really needed to this this morning, and so decided maybe I shold put this time to some use. This early sunrise thing, someone really needs to fix that. Thankfully we start daylight savings time (aka Summer!) soon.

Besides, who knows if the telecommunications brownies will magic up a phone, fax and internet connection in our office today? It may well be another day of being disconnected.

Soooo. I hope you had a great weekend, because mine was pretty cool - and you know how I'd hate for you to feel left out, right? It was mostly about the Open Day at my Buddhist centre. It exceeded our expectations in that quite a lot of people turned up, and most importantly quite a lot of the local residents and our neighbours from the street.

Initially there was quite a bit of resistance from the residents and local council to our move into the neighbourhood; it's a very quiet street lined with beautifull big homes and they were worried about traffic volumes, noise and I guess general weirdness. So one main aim of demystifying the place and showing that we are interested in being part of the community was acheived. Lots of people came through and I got a chance to catch up with some students I hadn't seen for a while, and meet some new people, like some friend's of Bodhi's who came along to check the place out and attend some of the talks that were on. It was also really nice to have so many members of the Tibetan community in attendance also, and to have the opportunity to see some traditional musical performers.

The photo exhibition was an incredible success. It looked fantastic, everyone was very taken with how professional it looked and how beautiful the photos were. My aim was to make something interesting and beautiful for people to look at during the day, and to give some fellow photographers the opportunity to show their works, with any sales being a bonus. We sold lots, well beyond what I had hoped for. One of the photographers sold almost half his works, which is a great result for an exhibition.

After the open day I was pretty exhausted, but I girded my loins and rallied the troups and trekked over to the home of one of my Flickr buddies to celebrate his 30th birthday. He and his boyfriend put on a lovely spread of food and drink, and it was fun to spend the evening chatting with my Flickr peeps and geeking out with them by sitting down to watch the season finale of Dr Who.

I didn't do a lot yesterday but take myself out for breakfast, read the newspaper, do some laundry and basically relax. I had some tentative plans for the day, but I decided to just hang out and recharge the batteries. Which thankfully worked pretty well.

I'm having problems uploading photos from my cranky old home pc these days, but if the office internet is up and running later I'll post some pics from the weekend.

Well Hung

I snapped a few pics last night as we were hanging the photography exhibition for the Open Day at the Buddhist centre I attend.



This exhibition is my little pet project. My wee babee. It's great to see it coming together, and these pics aren't the best but it's looking rather fabulous. The large picture in the centre of the pic above is the eyes of Maitreya (the Buddha to come, or 'future Buddha') and the white silk 'khata' scarfe is a traditional Tibetan honourific.



There are 4 photographers in the exhibition with a range of works taken in Tibet, Nepal, India and Australia. Fantastic stuff.



I've been working with a professional hanger, also a student at our centre, and it's been long and tiring work but fun. Since I took these pics we have almost finished, just 4 more images to hang, the labels to mount on the walls, and a bit of obsessing with a spirit level to make sure everyhting is perfect, and it's done. A bit of tweaking of the catalogue for the exhibition is this afternoon's job and then tomorrow we open.

Pop in if you're in Sydney and feel like having a look. The Open Day goes from 10am - 4pm, and I'll be giving an opening address to the exhibition at 10.45am. The address is 9 Victoria Square, Ashfield.

So Now Go, Walk Out The Door, Don't Turn Around Now...

I heart my new office. I heart Fridays. I heart my boss.

I heart the fact that no computers (still) and no telephones (still) in the new office + the fact that it's Friday = being told to go home at lunch time on a full day's pay. That rocks.

Poor Amenities

I spent all day today with no 'phone, no computer and NO INTERWEB. It was positively medieval. We moved into our new office today, a cute little old sandstone cottage, and so when I wasn't unpacking something and cleaning something else I was staring longingly at my monitor thinking wither thou, interweb? I almost considered drawing a picture of at least one of my favourite haunts and taping it to the screen, just so I didn't feel so alone, you know?

Bad news is, Interweb is probably going to take a few more days. Isn't anyone going to hold me?

I Want Candy!

I swear I am not making this shit up...



Anyone for a Death Adder?

On the way back from delivering boxes to our new office we stopped off for some fortifying chocolate. You know I had to buy these as soon as I saw them, and then you know the first thing I had to do is photograph them. Read the ingredients, I sure as hell am not going to eat them.

A Little Something For The Gay Boys In Da' House

More of a celebration than a How-To Guide.

I Wasn't Built For Manual Labour

We're moving offices tomorrow and I've spent most of yesterday and all of this morning packing boxes. Me. Packing. Boxes. The indignity of it all.

Eh, truthfully it's no so bad. One of the first things to get packed up was my In Tray. I'm not stupid. Next to be packed, the incontinence underwear* and lastly the espresso machine. Priorities.

*Not mine, I'd like to add. We deal with the frail aged, it always pays to have some absorbent underwear to hand.

EatFest 2006

Even though this weekend was only a 3 day long weekend, somehow I think I managed to fit in about 6 day's worth of eating. Yeah gods, will I ever be thin again?



Saturday was a special BBQ to celebrateKris becoming an Aussie. Of course this meant novelty food, how could it not? Aside from the Fairy Bread (above) and the patriotic cocktail sticks (below) there were chocolate crackles and lots of yummy bbq.



It was a fabulous afternoon, lots of great company and laughs. The crowd was a mixed bag of Aussies and Americans, knitters and non-knitters, photographers and non-photographers, bloggers and non-bloggers, gay and straight... you name and we pretty much had that base covered. A small collection of my other photos from the afternoon are here.

On Sunday I went into the Buddhist centre early to start working on the photo exhibition for next weekend's open day, and the off to DV and Daen's house for a bbq. See where the food theme comes in? Yet. More. Eating.

One fact that was much in evidence at the bbq is that the great baby boom amongst my friends continues apace. Thankfully they all specialise in turning out incredibly cute ones, so no polite "My, what an interesting looking child!" comments are required.

Exhibit A: The gorgeous Mattias, who resembles nothing more than a Cupie Doll made flesh.



Exhibit B: Oliver, owner of the bluest of blue eyes.



It was a long, hot and lazy afternoon of eating, drinking and being amused by the antics of children... big...



...and small. It made for a perfect afternoon, and one that felt a lot more like Summer than Spring.

In order to prove that you can never ingest too many calories over a long weekend, I had a lovely lunch yesterday at a friend's house. After lunch we sat outside in his backyard for a while, soaking up the heat of the afternoon. Afterwards I headed back into the Buddhist centre to meet a photographer who was dropping off his photos for the exhibition next weekend, and I stayed there until early evening doing stuff in the bookshop.

What else would be the perfect end to a three day binge-fest? None other than last night's new season premiere of The Biggest Loser of course! Bring on the shame storm.

Testing, Testing

It's Friday morning here in Oz, so that's like the weekend already! (No point leaving my wind-down until this afternoon. I mean, it beats the rush, right?) Not just any weekend, but a long 3 day weekend. I think Australia has more public holidays than any other country in the Western World, we will celebrate/commemorate anything.

Just another reason to live here, right?

Speaking of such matters, Kris is celebrating becoming an official citizen of OZ this weekend. A hot topic in these parts of late is the proposal that all future citizenship applicants should be given a test. To see if the 'fit', if they're 'our sort of people', you know?

You can keep your boring questions about Federation and Phar Lap, let's get down to some questions that really see if you'll fit in.

THE SHORT TOA CITIZEN TEST
Multiple choice, please answer every question.

The best drink ever invented is?
A. Passiona
B. A $6 bottle of Passion Pop
C. All of the above
D. A mixture of the above
E. What's this obsession with passionfruit?

The cutest member of Sherbet was?

A. Clive Shakespeare
B. Daryl Braithwaite
C. Garth Porter
D. Alan Sandow
E. Tony Mitchell (trick question)

Australia's biggest unsolved mystery is?
A. Who killed Bogle & Chandler
B. The disappearance of the Beaumont Children
C. Casey Donovan (Note: - NOT the porn star)
D. The contents of the great Aussie meat pie

If you were "cracking a tinny in the tinny", you would be?
A. Opening a beer whilst sitting in a small aluminium boat
B. Doing something dirty
C. Having a great weekend

C'mon Aussies (c'mon), care to add some more?

Luminous

So much beauty in this world.

Tossing & Turning

I'm wandering zombie-like through my day at present. Well, minus the clothes rent into rags and B-Grade movie make-up, but all other indicators (dead eyes, monosyllabic grunts, shuffling gait etc) are identical.

There's a period when the seasons are changing that I have trouble sleeping. At the moment we are having mostly clear and quite hot days, but then overnight the lack of cloud cover means that the temperature drops quite a bit and it gets quite cool.

Cue what I like to call The Trans-Seasonal Doona* Dance.

1. Start evening with just a sheet as cover, doona artfully arranged at the foot of the bed on 'if required' stand-by.
   
2. 2am(ish) - wake up chilly and pull up doona.
   
3. 2.30am(ish) - wake up face down and twisted around, a bit warm, stick one arm and both feet outside of doona.
   
4. 3.15am(ish) - Gasping and perspiring, angrily cast the verchacte doona aside entirely, artfull arangement be damned.
   
5. 3.30am to 6.30am - repeat steps 2 through 4
   
6. 6.30am - at alarm briefly consider the options of calling in dead, or going to work as undead.

("Doona" = duvet = continental quilt in Aussie parlance.

8 Things That Have Officially Been Placed On Notice

These You're On Notice pics have been doing the rounds of my blog peeps of late. I loves me some Stephen Colbert, ever since I saw him on Strangers With Candy as Chuck Noblet, but as we don't get his talk show here in Oz the context of these pics is kind of a bit lost on me.

However, I never let a lack of understanding get in the way of joining a bandwagon. You all get that about me, right? An enthusiastic joiner, even if I don't have a clue.

Anyhoo. Just so you don't think that it's all sunshine and smiles in my world, here are the 8 things that today I am officially putting on notice:



Care to make your own?

5 Life Lessons Taught To Me By Last Night's Episode Of "Dancing With The Stars"

1. "Star" is a general term that covers people who nobody has even heard of, like a girl who's good at chess and the son of two 'racing identities'
   
2. A big smile and mugging for the camera will apparently get you anywhere, even if your dancing isn't much chop
   
3. Some surnames are made for comedy. "Hey, we all know Gaze can dance!". Nyuk, nyuk.
   
4. Sometimes the universe strikes back and evens the odds for the rest of us, just because you're tall and cute it doesn't mean you're good at everything
   
5. Sometimes bad hairpieces happen to good people - but a clever publicist will ensure that the top of your head is cropped wherever possible
   

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words...

...but not always the truth. Or perhaps, when meaning isn't clear it's easy for people to read things into a picture that aren't there, or bend the meaning to their own ends.

This story on Slate.com is a prime example. In the foreground are five people sitting and talking, while in the background a huge bloom of dust and smoke rises where the World Trade Center towers were. The date is September 11th 2001.

Five years later the photographer then put a slant on the picture which is basically a fabrication, inferring that he knew the nature of their discussion and how they were reacting. Two of the subjects decide to hit back with the truth.

It's a worthwhile reminder that you can't believe everything you see and read.

Difficult Times

So many people in my life seem to be going through rough patches at the moment; friends, acquaintances and some of my blogging buddies. It's kind of like there is some global shift, some misaligning of the stars, that is bringing chaos and stress and depression into the lives of these people I care about.

It's quite distressing to see people going through tough times, and I can certainly empathise. I've had my own rough patches in the past few months, although almost trivial compared to what some of these folk are going through. Actually, that's not entirely true. In hindsight some of my problems were kind of trivial, but they still felt tough and at times overwhelming when I was experiencing them. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

What is unusual is that it seems so pervasive at the moment. So many friends having tough times. I've spending a lot of my time thinking about them, sometimes unsure what to do or say that might help. Suffice to say that I'm thinking of you. May the way ahead be clear and the road free of obstacles.

Colourful

Here are a few snaps from the Feastability food festival on Sunday. It was a scorching hot day, over the old 90F for those of you playing at home in the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the day was clear with hot gale force winds, and it did become overcast as the day wore on, but not any cooler.



The food festival had a really good vibe about it, in the classic Newtown way the crowd was a blend of grunge, queer and double-income-one-child families.


Colourful flags, perfect photo fodder.

Not surprisingly the longest queues were for the stalls selling beer. The food looked good, but vegetarian fare was a little thin on the ground and the queues were a bit off putting.


Bernard & Stewie.

It was a great afternoon for people watching, checking out the cute boys and of course, taking photos.

Full To Bursting

...with joy.

Man, I had a fabulous weekend. Now I use "fabulous" when the occasion calls for it, not the way that young people say "awesome" about things that patently do not inspire awe. This weekend called for an all caps label of FABULOUS. Look up the word, there's a picture of my weekend right there in the dictionary.

Saturday is kind of self explanatory. The perfect blend of some Me Time (haircut, retail therapy and the stalking of architecture photos in the back streets of my 'hood) and some Sociability (a loooong afternoon at the pub and a suprise house guest - The Mighty Quinn). Rounded off with an early(ish) night, by choice, and a good sleep.

Yesterday dawned HOT, and I met my friend Bernard and his partner (Seven Foot) Stewie for a wonderful late breakfast. Good coffee, lots of water and some ciabatta toast topped with rocquette (aka arugala aka rocket), two over-easy eggs and an amazing tomato salsa with just a hint of curry about it. Perfect. The three of us then headed to the Newtown food and wine festival Feastibility for the afternoon, and caught up with a few other friends. I took heaps of photos, some of which I'll post soon. It was an extremely hot and very windy day, and by around 2pm I could feel that I was starting to burn to a crisp so called it quits. On the way home I decided to pop in and see a friend I hadn't seen for a long while, and... well let's just say that I was able to tick another item off my To Do List. :)

Around early evening I got home from my friend's place, hung out with Bodhi and Quinn, rang up for some home delivered Thai, watched Australian Idol (so many of them sucked so bad!) ate chocolate and went to bed. A tired but very happy boy.