The Neasdon Queen of Soul - LIVE!

A couple of years ago I wrote a short post about my 20+ year long obsession with the original Voice of the Beehive herself Mari Wilson. Aside from the campery and retro glamour that she affected in the 80s, I've always loved her genuine warmth and that voice! Her version of "Cry Me A River" still gives me goosebumps.

Earlier today I was cruising youtube, as one does, and I happened across the channel of Julia Fordham, one of Mari's original back-up singers The Marionettes. Julia has posted a half dozen clips of Mari (and her, natch) performing live on various tv shows and in concert. Fabulous! Many of my favourites are on here like "Beware Boyfriend", "The End of the Affair", "Just What I Always Wanted", "One Day is a Lifetime"... etc.

Bows to present... Miss... Mari... Wilson!

With Julia Fordham on backing vocals!

Don't Ever Say Never

So. I'm back!

When I said that I might return I wasn't expecting to come back so quickly, if ever, truly. I suspected I would miss blogging though, but I underestimated just how much I would miss it over these past 2 months.

Aside from missing connecting with you all, from a functional point of view it's hard to suddenly stop doing something you've done pretty much daily for around five and a half years. Cold turkey is a bitch! Almost every day I find myself stumbling on something that I think "oh, I must blog about this... crap!"

So I return, cap in hand, having cried "wolf!" only once.

The End, My Friend

Sadly, I feel the time has come to draw a close to this little old blog of mine.

My biggest problems these days are time and energy. Gone are the heady days of being able to web surf and blog at work, when what my employers lost in productivity my blog gained in amusing or interesting links found, or thoughts and experiences recorded. Now when I get home of an evening I'm tired, especially since I started working 2 part-time jobs, 6 days a week.

The death, or at least (I'm praying) long-term coma, of the lovely laptop I was using and switching back to a desktop pc has also meant that web surfing and blogging have to be done in the cloistered confines of my bedroom. Not being able to web surf while I'm sitting in front of the tv has meant that many nights I'd really rather just watch the tv. In fact I've even been hanging out less on the sites I used to frequent, like Flickr and Ravelry. Definite signs that I'm spending less time on the computer.

What a fantastic experience these past five plus years have been! Nearly 180,000 visits! Many hundreds (thousands?) of comments! In the heyday of this blog I used to hang out in the comments all the time, so much so that at times it was almost like a chat room. Ah, good times. How lively and what energy this blog had then.

I thought about taking a break, but in truth every time I have taken little breaks in the past I have come back with only a short term burst of energy. This blog loses momentum, and readers, each time also. I'd rather not go out with a whimper and of late I've been hearing the sound of faint whimpering. Reading back what I've written just now I'm struck at how much I've used the word 'energy', and I guess that is the key.

Thank you all for the good times. In over 5 years the bad times have been amazingly few, nothing harsher than the occasional and rare rude comment. I know I will miss not having a forum to write in, because I have discovered how much I love the art of writing. Sharing my photos has been another joy, and your encouraging comments have always really touched me. Maybe these will things will draw me back to this blog sometime in the future, but I don't know if they will and so I don't think it wise to make any promises. In the meantime I'll be leaving everything here, feel free to poke around and maybe one day in the future we can meet back here.

Love,
Andrew... the other one.

The Strangest Of Days

As I mentioned this morning we woke to the End Of Days the surreal orange skies of a huge dust storm this morning. I snapped these pics below within the space of about two hours. The first just after waking, and the last from the 28th floor cafeteria at work about 9am.

The view from my back door about 7am, a vibrant orange sky and
banana palms being whipped around in a gale.


Red dust everywhere on the walk up my street to the train station.
The air was thick and gritty with it.


Browny orange twilight and street lights at 8.30am on Newtown train station.


The sun struggling through, 8.30am on Newtown train station.


Somewhere out there is Bennelong Point, the Opera House and the Harbour.
The view from the 28th floor cafeteria at work about 9am.

By late afternoon it had pretty much blown over, the main legacy left behind being drifts of red/orange dust wherever the strong winds hadn't successfully blown the slate clean. A little bit of the red desert come to town.

Under A Bloody Sun

I've been in a habit of waking up earlier than I need to for the past week or so, instead of 7am I've been waking up at 5.50, 6.05... any number of really, really too early times. So when I woke up too early again this morning, I cracked an eye open and saw bright orange light against my window blinds. "Wow, bright sunrise." I thought and rolled over to try and catch some more zzzzzzs.

Except, an hour later the light was still bright orange.



This is how Sydney looks this morning. Early this morning gale force winds drove a huge dust storm of red dust in that has blanketed the city. A 'once in a lifetime event' the morning news shows are calling it. Everything looks surreal, like the city has been blanketed in bright orange fog. I nipped outside briefly to see what was going on, and I could feel the dust in the air in my eyes and the back of my throat.

They are recommending anyone who can should stay indoors but I'm still going to try and get to work, as I don't have any ongoing respiratory issues to be overly concerned about. (Plus, I'm going to grab my camera and see if I can't get some pics of my own.) I am going to set out much earlier than normal as well, I can't imagine that our already fragile public transport system hasn't gone into complete chaos.

Wish me luck.

[Pic via The Sydney Morning Herald.]

5 Things Found Rolling Around In The Bag I Carry To Work: Ewww, What's THAT? Edition

• 3 biros from The Big Christian Charity where I used to work. They sit nicely in the hand, write well, and given that they ordered 1,500 of them with the wrong phone number on them, not stolen. I actually had to stay "Stop! I have enough pens at home!".
  
• But the packets (2 sizes, 1 each) of Post-Its are definitely stolen a Gift With Toil from some workplace or other.
  
• A packet of blood pressure pills with no actual pills in it. Likewise a purse pack (whatever) of aloe vera tissues with no actual aloe vera tissues in it.
  
• A $9.95 radio, bought from a novelty/bits of everything shop in Little Vietnam in Bankstown. Amazingly it works ok, and kept me company on the lonely hours I was archiving files in the bowels of more than one bank branch.
  
• Old payslips. Old bills. (Paid, I think. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm fairly sure. I mean nothing has been cut off or disconnected yet.) Old fliers for various things. Apparently there was a food fair in March that sounds like it would have been good.
  

Indulgence

Oh my gah, I'm pooped.

• Many, many beers on Friday during a Most Excellent night out.
• Four and a half hours sleep and then up for work on Saturday at the yarn store.
• A long, torturous train ride home thanks to my Arch Nemesis (aka CityRail) doing PLANNED track maintenance, a fact they like to stress lest you think they were lurching from self induced crisis to self induced crisis.
• A train ride that ate up most of my potential nap time before going out Saturday night to a very fun event called Underground Underbear (so named for a) the basement venue and b) the large number of hirsute/stocky men in their underwear) where many, many more beers were consumed.
• Finally to today, waking up waaaay too early after a very late night, catching up with my friend Judy, going to knitting at the pub as per usual and then meeting friends at another pub and having dinner.

Total alcohol consumed today, one light beer. Even I have my limits.

Apostrophe Catastrophe

I admit to being a bit of a pedant about apostrophes. Not saying that I get it right myself 100% of the time (I would cop to 99.8% though) but I keep seeing this particular gem cropping up more and more.



"Your" versus "you're". In this instance it's from a clip from the second season of "Project Runway Australia". The tricky old apostrophe of contraction. "Don't". "Can't". "It's". And in the old days, before falling largely out of use, "'phone" or "'bus" even.

Every time I see someone type "your stupid!" on a bulletin board I feel like asking "their stupid what?"

This One Is Goes Out To My Friend James O'Brien

James is one of the world's great Swede-o-philes. In fact, as I write this he'll be sitting down to his weekly Swedish lesson. Don't get me wrong, I admire the Swedes. I buy their furniture. I appreciate their massage. I think they do a natty line in pop music.

But there is a line I draw that others cross.

Anyhoo. The brief yet classic "Swedish Chemist" sketch from Alas Smith & Jones. This sketch has been a long running part of the zeitgeist amongst one group of my friends for as long as I care to remember. (Along with other gems such as the Licky Licky Bumsex Song.) Comedy gold, just the mention of "Ball? Or aerosol?" is enough to set us off.

Late Night Drunken Revelations

You wouldn't think that standing around in your underwear, in a leather bar, with your 6th (7th? 8th?) beer in your hand would be the place to start reflecting on your behaviour. Or maybe it's the perfect place? Oddly the behaviour I was reflecting on had nothing to do with standing around in underwear, in a leather bar, with an uncounted beer in my hand. Oh no, that would be too obvious.

I did start thinking about how I'm looking after myself though, physically and mentally. Or not, as the case may be. And not all about me, me, me either but about how my behaviour of late may be hurting, or at least frustrating, the people around me. Time to stop trying to get my emotional needs met in all the wrong places. Time to stop acting like such a tool, and a needy one at that.

And on a physical level, certainly time to eat better and lose some weight! In the past I've always gotten these bursts of energy about getting healthier with the first blast of truly warm weather. (With varying degrees of success I have to say.) Maybe time to make another Spring 'resolution'?

The Not Very Good Superhero Delivery Company

...has a package, just for you!



[Click to make it, ahem, bigger.]

Love, On The 28th Floor

When I'm not working as a yarn enabler at one of my two part-time jobs, I'm working behind the scenes doing a huge file archiving project in a major bank. Earlier this week I was yanked out of the battery hen hell-hole cube farm situated two train rides from home, and relocated to the rarefied corridors of power that is the city Head Office.

Where tea rooms are not some vending machine, a microwave and the ubiquitous Zip Boil instant hot water 'system'. Oh no, funky colours, modernist furniture, mood lighting and floor to ceiling picture windows are the name of the game in the 'Break Out Rooms'. (Seriously, the way that they look like some queen's efforts on Top Design they should be called Come Out Rooms.)

Yesterday was my first day, and I took the advice of one of the guys I'm working with and tootled up to the small cafeteria on the 28th floor to get lunch. I remember thinking how gorgeous the view was, but it was actually this morning when I went to get my coffee that it really hit me. OMG.

Firstly it's a vertigo sufferer's nightmare because the huge picture windows go almost all the way to the ground, but to those of us who aren't bothered by heights (weird, for someone so short?) it offers an amazing view. An entire corner of plate glass windows with a view that sweeps from the Harbour and across Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross. Nearly 180 degrees.

This morning I felt like I fell in love all over again with this city I chose to call home 20 years ago! (In fact next month is my anniversary.) While my passably good coffee was being made, I stood transfixed looking out over the Botanic Gardens and across the top of the arches of the Opera House to the glittering harbour. Today was one of those perfect Spring days Sydney does so well, and as I was watching the morning sun hit the water and a harbour ferry stitch a silver lame line across the water I thought I could burst. Maybe it was just all the glitter.

It was a completely different view of the city than I'm accustomed to. Looking down from Where The Money Is, across rooftops with surprising lap pools and little gardens, watching people amble through the Botanic Gardens or ride a ferry across the water. I wanted to play hookey so bad. Nothing reminds you more of how stunning this city is than getting up, way above the grimy trains and the casual rudeness. The scourges of pretty much all big cities.

Back at ground level I was making my way home tonight, at dusk, through my favourite 'off lead' doggie park and I was still feeling the love. There was a definite Spring vibe in the air, people out with their dogs enjoying the lengthening twilight, kids in tow, small groups of people sitting on the grass chatting and having a drink. Feisty little terriers and bemused large dogs seemed to be everywhere.

You know what, even the train ride home wasn't so bad.

First Class, All The Way

Awww, bless. Matthew Mitcham on the Pam Ann show!

Mitcham on the Pam Ann Show
Uploaded by 1dobiedc. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

"Lachlan likes this one." Oh sweet Jebus, we all like the look of that one, honey.

OMG! You Did WHAT?

I'm not sure if this is scary or fabulous, it kind of walks that edge you know. Courtesy of my friend David, I give you Why The F*** Do You Have A Kid?. I'd like to say that no kids were harmed in the making of this... but I'm not so sure.

It does however seem like the natural follow on from Tacky Weddings though, right?

Birthday Weekend: In Review

Who knew that 45 was the fun one? Seriously. I had an absolute blast this birthday!

Friday night I met Mikey (TLE) & Evan, David, Brad and Christopher for cocktails and dinner at the Japanese fusion restaurant Uchi Lounge. Two of my favourite things are lychees and alcohol, so I had to start the night with a nomsworthy Lychee-tini. Lychee sake, gin, a splash of lychee syrup and one of the luscious pearlescent fruits to garnish. Yum.

We settled on a banquet, and the food (and wine!) just seemed to keep coming in an endless stream of delights. The eggplant with a sweet/savoury miso and parmesan dressing sounds like it shouldn't be, but it was heaven! Miso! And Parmesan! Crazy talk.

Numerous courses and four bottles of wine later, we poured/rolled ourselves out the door into the night. Being that well fed, with little distended round bellies all, the only logical thing seemed to be to make our way to the Flinders Hotel for the Harbour City Bears night. Some of my no stamina soft cock friends fellow diners decided to call it a night, but the rest of use headed off to the Teddy Bears Drink-nic.

You're in for a big surprise, at least that's the hope we always hold for it.

It was one of those busy but sociable nights that stick in your memory. New people met, old friends bumped into, good times had. Completely sleep deprived but happy, I had breakfast the next morning with David and a new friend Deen. Coffee, a plate of hang-over cure greasiness, sunglasses, sunshine and good company. Perhaps a little too much coffee, as any possibility of an afternoon nanna nap fled in the face of an over-caffeinated buzz. It was ok though as I had a quiet night in on Saturday, and a fairly lazy Sunday also. Nice.

So, one of the good ones, and big thanks to the boys for such a great night.

Lost In Redfern

I know posting this pic right after the previous entry's 'pot belly' find makes me seem weight obsessed, but truthfully could this have been a more serendipitous mash up of posters?



Ha! If anyone locates my old 28" waistline in the Redfern area, please contact me asap. Sweet babby Jebus, for that I'd even consider a reward...

45 Revolutions Per Minute

I'm posting this early, well late on Thursday night actually, but early in terms of the fact that it isn't my actual birthday until tomorrow so one could say that this is early. Premature. Preemptive. I'm heading out pretty much straight after work tomorrow night for lashings of sake and a little bit of Japanese food, so I'm striking while the iron is hot and blogging while I have the chance.

So anyhoo, happy birthday to me! Yay! 45 today (tomorrow)! Because sometimes, if you are walking around with your eyes open, the Universe rewards you I happened across this sign the other day and thought it apropos for this occasion.


Oh, lordy. I am certainly both of these things.

Birthday eve finds me a little introspective this year. It's been a trying year on one hand, but actually kind of fab in other regards. Ups and downs of unemployment and financial stress, new friendships and relationship, feeling fat and frumpy, and then feeling empowered and attractive. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete standstill, and keep all extremities inside the car. Yikes, it has indeed been a rollercoaster ride... and I'm barely tall enough to even ride one.

Birthday eve finds things on the upswing though. I'm getting 5 days of work a week at present, and even though the wages aren't much chop I am really enjoying the 2 of those days spent at the yarn store. I've been socialising like a dervish lately, and have made some new friendships that I've grown to treasure. It looks like two of my close friends will be returning from parts foreign (Melbourne and Brisbane), which I am so happy about. I've even come to a form of body acceptance that is relatively new for me, and I have my 'bear' community friends to thank for that.

That one's kind of a biggie. It doesn't mean that I don't plan on losing the kilos I gained in the past couple of years, for health reasons for starters, but it does mean that I can feel fairly comfortable with the shape I am in now.

However, I do really wish I had computer access during the workdays these days, because one thing that has suffered this year is this poor blog and my reading of other friends' blogs. Most nights when I get home, particularly days when I'm at the yarn store, I'm just too darn tired and uninspired to write or do much surfing. (Naturally, porn is the exception.)

So, thanks for sticking around and reading. Thanks for those who've been here for years now, and those who are new. I understand I was thoroughly remiss in not posting my address for parcels to be sent, so please don't feel guilty about the no gift issue. Let's just avoid the embarrassment and discomfort that showering me with gifts would cause, and move on. Taking a moment to pause and reflect on the knowledge that I have a long memory for some things.

5 Things About Tuesday, 1st Of September: Cube Farms & Meerkats Edition

• I spent my second day gastarbeit-ing in what feels like the world's biggest cube farm. Imagine a giant, cavernous aircraft hanger sized space, plonk in a serious of free standing 'facility hubs' (2 toilets, 1 kitchenette, 2 meeting rooms, 1 vending machine), hang some peppy inspirational signage like "Innovation Happens Here!" (gag) and fill with thousands of workstations. Noisy and impersonal were 2 thoughts that sprung to mind, and every now and then I would see clusters of people standing around in the 'corridors' or perched in between workstations, and realised they were having team meetings. Ugh, whoever thought this was the workplace of the future?
  
• Although the partitions were only low so there was no need to meerkat anybody, it was also maze-like. Kind of like being in Canberra, you can see where you need to get to... you just can't find the way to it.
  
• Tragedy struck, I got on the train (for a fairly long pair of train rides) without a book to read. This error in judgement never happens! Thankfully I dug around in the bottom of my bag and lo, there was a half finished, somewhat vintage sudoko. Distraction crisis averted.
  
• First day of Spring! Which also coincides with Birthday Week, a week I am curiously low key about this year. Meh.
  
• Of course, I say that now. Just wait until I'm all me, me, me, me, me bitches on Friday.

September Is The January In Fashion!

Late yesterday afternoon I saw the documentary "The September Issue". OMG, I loved it. I came out of it absolutely loving Vogue's creative director, stylist and photo guru Grace Coddington, but I also came out of it having a new respect and admiration for Anna Wintour. Yes she is that "The Devil Wears Prada" character to some extent, but she also comes across as whip smart, fearless, somewhat wounded (when she speaks about her family in particular) and a little bit wicked and cheeky at times.

One thing that really stands out is how much work and effort goes into producing the magazine. A fact she speaks about in the Sundance film festival interview below:

Maybe fashion is facile and frivolous much of the time, but you have to admire the work that goes into creating beautiful things; the clothes, the photos (gorgeous!) and the magazine. These are people at the top of their game that are working damn hard to stay there in a constantly shifting landscape. Highly recommended.

Kish Me You Fool!

In the past couple of years soap operas worldwide have discovered The Gays and The Lesbitarians. Out, happy, conflicted, closeted, the whole gamut. Naturally the course of gay and lesbian love stories are convoluted and tortuous. Let's face it, without it there would be no 'opera' in Soap Opera right?

They're all at it! Germany has my faves Christian & Olli, as well as Deniz & Roman. In fact Christian & Olli's "Verbotan Liebe" soap opera is brimming with poofs, dykes and those questioning. You can't move for someone kissing someone else of the same gender. Hurrah! Catalonia, Spain, The Netherlands... even the good ole U S of A, it's an international festival of The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name! Youtube is brimming with gay men and their followers who post clips of the couples, their names 'Brangelina-ised' to monikers like Chrolli (or Ollian), DeRo or Nuke.

Now on the US soap "One Life To Live" we have "Kish", Oliver Fish and Kyle Lewis. As it turns out closeted policeman Oliver and out bad-boy Kyle were lovers in college. A relationship that Oliver tries to forget and Kyle is still very much living. Conflict! I have to say, despite all the soap opera craziness the relationship aspect has been well written, and the actors are giving their scenes their all.

Kish has rapidly become a love quadrangle. Kyle has been rejected and has taken up with Nick. Oliver is dating a beard his girlfriend Layla, and of course really wants to be with Kyle. Likewise Kyle really wants to be with Oliver. Drama ensues. What is very interesting is the high percentage of out gay actors playing these roles. As the rather lovely slab of beef in a uniform Oliver, Scott Evans is an out gay actor, as is Broadway fave Nick Rodriguez who plays Nick. Brett Claywell is straight, but as evidenced in this interview on After Elton is a very cool guy, and he really brings a believability to Kyle.

Youtubers final81 and bombayhighway have been recapping the love story/dramady in clips if you want to catch up on the story so far. Now, someone call Officer Fish... because I've been a very, very bad boy!

[Updated: Oh, duh. It wasn't until I just read this interview with the boys in Out that I realised cutie pie Scott Evans is mega hottie Chris Evans's real-life gay brother. The family resemblance (ie: hotness) is certainly there. Apparently their mother is even getting in on the act soon and playing Officer Fish's mother on the show!]

Early Summer

I'm getting to play hooky from work today! I'm still working the 2 part-time jobs (yarn pusher and office temp), but the office temp job has dried up this week and will be back on next week. I picked up a bit of extra work in the yarn store earlier in the week, so as a trade off things aren't too bad.

The biggest upside is that today is absolutely gorgeous! God Bless global warming, because we are having a CO2 based early summer at the end of winter that has to be felt to be amazed at. Glorious! So far this morning I've had a sleep in, breakfast and coffee in the sun, and then this afternoon I'm having coffee with a friend and seeing a movie with another, before going to The Flinders Hotel tonight for beers with the bears. Seriously, if it suddenly turns to the depths of winter again there will be misery of epic proportions because I am already in Summer Mode!

All I have to do is shake off the winter fat... and pasty white legs.

Guerrillas In The Midst

"Guerrilla knitting" (aka "knit tagging" or "urban knitting") and crochet has been around for a while now, but locally seems to have been back in the public eye again just recently. A guerrilla knitter was 'tagging' the columns in the ABC foyer during the ABC702 Knit-In that I wrote about recently, and on a very local level bits of guerrilla knitting have been cropping up around my 'hood of Newtown.

A new example in Camperdown Rest Park, Newtown.

The other day when I was at work in the yarn store, I sold some Australian made 'self-striping' sock wool to a woman who was heading off to the US to meet some other knitters and get her guerrilla knit on.

Tagging with a spray can or paint marker I can't support, but this kind of non damaging tagging I love. Like many things that spring up in the alt craft community, the origins are shady and various claim have been made about who had the idea first. It seems likely though that the best candidate for inventing the idea is the Knitta crew, who have been knit tagging since 2005.

Whomever it was, the idea certainly took root fast and knitted 'tags' started cropping up all over. Some international examples are the Swedes Masquerade, Knit Sea and Niclas & Jonny of KnittUps, and Chicago's The Micro-fiber Militia. Another website, The Knitted Landscape, has many great examples contributed from all over the world.

My favourites are examples where a specific and unlikely object has been wrapped, transforming it into something different. For style, colour and the sheer joy it gives me, my all time favourite piece of guerilla knitting is this maritime piece from Sweden by Masquerade. So gorgeous and unexpected.

Another tagged tree in Camperdown Rest Park, Newtown.

I find guerrilla knitting as being somewhere between graffiti style tagging, street art, murals and even performance art. The act of wrapping an object in something soft, handmade and colourful makes us look at the object differently. It's part joke, part leaving a mark to say "I was here", part civil disobedience, part advertisement for just how cool craft can be, and partly a gift of fun to the community. It's certainly non harming, and quite charming in my eyes. There is a great post on Deputy Dog which calls it the "world's most inoffensive graffiti".

Similarly, some artists have used ephemeral and community based knitting projects to great effect. Josie Schimke created the beautiful A Tree Undone at Burning Man in 2007. A 9 foot tall artificial tree was clad in hundreds of knitted leaves contributed by individual knitters, with the specific instructions that the knitting not be properly bound off. The wind, and Burning Man attendees, where then invited to unravel the leaves throughout the course of the festival. Josie has posted albums of in progress photos and one of the tree in situ. Fabulous!

If any of my local Sydney peeps see anymore guerrilla knitting about I'd love to know. Just email me the location to andrewmr(at)ihug(dot)com(dot)au!

Currently Loving

a) Lisa Reagan's track "Al'infini (Project Runway Re-Mix)". So called because her track "Al'infini" was remixed and used as the music for Wendy Pepper's runway show in the finale of the first season of the U.S. "Project Runway" tv show. [You can listen to an mp3 here.]

b) Cowboys!


c) And Indians!


d) Dill pickles. (Unrelated to the above.)

e) Glam rock!

f) Elizabeth Knox's new novel The Angel's Cut, the very enjoyable sequel to The Vintner's Luck. Even though the novel has a cool, sometimes almost detached, emotional tone much of the time I think the format of the novel escapes some of the issues I felt with the first book (the abbreviated chapter format, where each chapter was a one day visit on the same annual anniversary). Plus what's not to love about gay angels, the Roaring 20's, airplane stuntmen and the early golden days of cinema?

5 Things About Wednesday, 19th August: Fabric And Other Forms Of Strain Edition

• Instead of my usual 'walk up to the train station and catch the train into the city' routine, this morning I decided to take a bus instead. Adventure! Oh, and I say A BUS rather than THE BUS because that would imply the bus I wanted actually arrived.
  
• During lunch I sat next to a young Chinese couple. They ate McDonalds and I ate Chinese. I guess the grass is always greener?
  
• My last customer of the day was a very pretty young woman who could not stop sniffing. I'm not talking the occasional sniff here, I'm talking relentless, I'm-sorry-I'm-trying-to-concentrate-on-selling-you-this-knitting-yarn-and-needles-but-frankly-I'm-imagining-smacking-you-too-much-to-really-pay-attention sniffing. Just as she was leaving, she pulled out a tissue and blew her nose. Gee, thanks.
  
• Shortly after arriving home I split the zip on my trousers. a) good timing! and b) seriously, could I be any more hung?
  
• Sadly, yes.

Tango: The Dance Of Love (That Dare Not Speak It's Name)

Augusto Balizano y Miguel Moyano from Buenos Aires.


"The Cellblock Tango" (from "Chicago"), The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles


The very sensual Lalo & Luis in Tokyo.


More of the amazing Lalo & Luis.


From the film "Tango". Black Vs white. Good Vs evil. Top Vs bottom, probably.

Singular Proof That I Once Thought A Guy With A Mullet Was Hot

But in my defence a) I was only 22 at the time and b) I never bought it that it was the girls he was interested in, especially when at the end of the clip he like totally podium dances and everything.

Wa Wa Nee "Stimulation", 1986

Back On The Intertubes

Thanks to the kindness of James O'Brien I have kissed goodbye to the tribulations of internet cafes, with their dirty keyboards, sniffling patrons and interesting browser caches. (Seriously, next time you use an internet cafe check the browser history. Fascinating.) James had an old Linux based pc which was surplus to requirements, so while I'm waiting to get the laptop fixed I'm able to be back on the air.

Now all I have to do is regain the blog readership I had back when I was posting regularly and not whining about a) losing my job or b) having a dead computer...

Multiculturism In Action

At the moment I'm working in a suburb of Sydney called Campsie. (At job #1, that is. The yarn store is still located in the city, where it's always been.) I don't know if my fellow Sydneysiders know Campsie, I certainly didn't until I started working there on a temp assignment this week. A half hour on the train from my 'hood and truly it is like another world. It has an amazing eclectic mix of migrants, the sort of place where you can hear Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, various African tongues, Tongan... well, almost anything. (And lots of English of course.)

There is a really bustling, vibrant atmosphere about the place that I'm digging. Like all areas that have large migrant populations the shopping is kind of wild, lots of grocers, butchers and fishmongers, the latter two specialising in things with their heads still attached (it would seem). Not catering to the sqeamishness of your average Woolworths customer. More like a "Survivor" food challenge.

So, the one thing I have been unable to find, is a decent coffee place. Zip. Nada. On a shopping street, in Sydney! (For those playing along overseas, Sydney - like all major Australian cities - has a very strong coffee culture. Thanks mostly to a long history of Italian immigration. Any shopping street is likely to have at least a few small coffee shops where really good, thick, rich coffees abound.)

On day one I missed the one caffeination opportunity I've been able to find entirely, a little outlet of the chain DCM (Donuts, Coffee, Muffins) right next to the train station. I walked the entire length of the shopping strip looking for a coffee. I passed beverages of all other kinds (with or without tapioca pearls and grass jelly), bargain shops, kebab places, and a whole dead eyed parade of grinning things with their heads still on, but none of the bean. No Arabica. No macchiato, affogato, or even cappuccino. Where are the Italians when you need them?

Thankfully since then I have discovered my enablers at DCM, otherwise it would not be pretty.

Yellow, Red, Black Or White...

...add a little bit of moonlight!

1976. We were 12 and already knew we weren't particularly interested in those pretty girls, girls, girls. Some realisations come early and easily. Probably years earlier when I showed Jamie mine, and he showed me his. (With a bit of coaxing.) What we did have an interest in though was the mid 70s obsession with retro. Biba clothes. Manhattan Transfer. Art Deco. And the oom-pah ragtime sound of Sailor's "Girls, Girls, Girls".

I mentioned this song to a friend over dinner last night. Someone who I have a newfound respect for when it comes to all things obscure and vintage. (Someone who 'gets' Sparks, just for starters.) His response? "I've got their albums. On vinyl, of course."

Le sigh. I love my friends.

Roughing It

Aside from my involvement with the knit in for Wrap With Love, a few other things have collided recently to make me think a lot more about the plight of the homeless.

A month (or so) ago I was watching a kind of naff, but still tearjerky, show called "Random Acts Of Kindness" on our local tv. I hadn't watched the show before, but I knew the way it went down. I've watched Oprah, Backyard Blitz et al. I knew the drill, people who work tirelessly for others/have special needs/have suffered a tragedy are given things/money/a new backyard to thank them/perk them up/put them back on the road to recovery. Yes I sound cynical, but in truth I'm kind of a sucker for these sorts of things and I always end up in floods of tears. Even when it's only a new outdoor entertaining area/bbq/poolside Indonesian style cabana/beds of ubiquitous cordylines.

So I was watching "Random Acts Of Kindness" when they did a segment with a woman called Sarah Garnett. One night, while Sarah was helping out by serving meals to the homeless, she spotted a homeless man reading a paperback novel under a streetlamp. She started to bring him other books to read, and from that was sown the idea of the Bejamin Andrew Footpath Library. By 2003 the library was born, bringing a weekly collection of books to the street for homeless people to read. Hopefully they return them, but they're not under any obligation to.

The show did lots for her and her volunteer organisation, gave them storage space, petrol vouchers, a new minivan, a computer, etc. Obviously lots more than she expected, and frankly all sensible things that would make the organisation thrive and her life easier. But it was the idea that blew me away. Books for the homeless.

What must it be like to spend days and nights on the streets? Largely invisible to everyone, with few people to talk to and little opportunity for social contact and just some escape? Like Sarah I agree that books can be affirming, entertaining, life changing things and why not bring a little of this to someone who is on the streets? Aside from food, shelter and fatigue, boredom and isolation are apparently some of the hardest things for the homeless.

The other thing I saw on tv was a woman called Jean Madden who brought in her Street Swag to compete on the "New Inventors" show. She didn't win, but she did win the people's choice award and according to a radio interview I heard with her today, she's the only Australian who has been invited this year to take her invention to a prestigious international design competition.

In her dealings with the Brisbane homeless she discovered that fatigue was a big issue for those roughing it on the streets. Many of the homeless have managed to suss out obtaining food, but shelter and rest are much harder. She had the idea to take the great Aussie swag (a portable bedroll and shelter in one) and refine the design so that a homeless person could have a portable shelter during the evening, and a discrete bag to carry belongings in during the day. (Including a book, perhaps?)

She designed a few prototypes, designing them to be simple and cost effective to make, and gave them to some homeless folk she knew, using their feedback to improve them. Making them a camouflage colour so they are hard to spot in greenery at night, and reducing the thickness of the mattress to make more room for possessions, for instance. She has now distributed thousands of them to homeless in many parts of Australia, and has them made by prisoners in jail who in turn receive credit towards a textiles manufacturing certificate.

Again, what an amazing idea. Both ideas aimed at improving the wellbeing of people on the streets. Food and shelter are the obvious fundamental things one thinks of, but boredom and fatigue would have enormous impacts on the mental and physical health of the homeless. Simple ideas making big quality of life changes. I take my hat off to these amazing women.

Knitter #328, Media Whore

Early (OMG, early) on Friday morning I headed into the ABC radio and tv headquarters in Ultimo for the ABC702 Knit In. The knit in is an annual event which first began in 2002, and is a focal point for the charity Wrap With Love. 28 25cm x 25cm knitted or crocheted squares are sewn together to form single bed sized blanket 'wraps', which are given to people who would otherwise not have something warm to wrap themselves in. In Wrap With Love's own words "Cold humanity is our concern, humans caring about other humans."


I arrived shortly after 7am, just after the doors opened, and was already the 328th knitter through the doors. I had to leave about 8.20am to head off to work but by then there was something like 600+ people there. Later in the morning they set a world record for the largest number of people knitting simultaneously for 15 minutes at just under 600 people, and estimates of total attendees were at well over 970 (which was the number where the door volunteers stopped counting). In addition to the knitters there was a large group of people sitting sewing or crocheting together completed squares that had been turned in, to make finished wraps.

Some completed wraps on display.

Late yesterday afternoon I went to the monthly underwear party at my local leather bar, and as it turned out one of the guys there was at the Knit In crocheting squares together. Small world, eh?

Highlight of the morning was being asked up on stage and interviewed for the ABC702 morning radio show.

Angela Caterns and myself, grinning like a fool. Photo by James O'Brien.

James has very kindly put up an mp3 of the interview here. Listen for the bits where the male interviewer, Adam Spencer, exhibits a total lack of gaydar by asking me about a) rugby league and b) meeting chicks. Cue nervous laugh from me.

On the ABC website there is a gallery of pics from the event (which curiously I don't appear in) and a video of the news story that appeared on the ABC evening news (likewise, without me, and frankly these oversights needs to be dealt with). Later in the day I even had some knitters come into the yarn store I work in 2 days a week and mention they had heard the interview.

A fun morning, and a lovely way to share the enjoyment of your craft while doing something meaningful for others.

Fashion Photography, Helpfully Explained

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Little. Yellow. Sticky.

[If the title of this post sounds familiar, it's because it's a shout out to the fabulous (sadly now infrequently updated) blog Little. Yellow. Different. One of the first bloggers, or on-line journallers, I ever read... back in the day. ]

Imitiation, The Sincerest Form Of Flattery Or Not?

I would say, not.

I had my own little experience with plagiarism when a Belgian craft company ripped off one of my knitting photos from Flickr to use in their product catalogue. Something I never would have spotted if an eagle eyed Flickr viewer hadn't spotted the picture, thought it looked familiar, tracked it down to my profile, and even scanned a copy of the brochure and then sent it to me as proof. I've got to tell you, I didn't feel flattered, I felt really pissed off.

When I used to be involved in historical re-enactment I wrote a series of articles for our local group's 'zine about hat making and garment construction, only to find out through a reader that another group was photocopying them right out of the 'zine, cutting and then pasting them into their own 'zine, without ever having had the courtesy to ask. I would have sent them originals to use if they had only asked, instead I got bent out of shape and told them to stop.

There must be many, many instances where creative people have their images and ideas ripped off. However, ripping them off for advertising or products just increases the likelihood that someone, somewhere along the line is going to spot it. So I find the blatant plagiarism documented on this blog post and this website astounding. Thankfully there are plenty of someones out there doing the spotting.

Buns On Parade

There's some junk in those trunks, honey.

[Photo via Shorpy. As always, give it a loving little click to enbiggen.]

FTW!

Until I get the home laptop fixed I'll probably only be updating about once a week. Not enough frankly, but I'm also working 2 jobs and 6 days a week at the moment, so time is an issue.

It sucks to start a blog post with an apology for absence, but hopefully the lack of a home computer issue will be fixed shortly and I can go back to having regular nightly internet access.

So, that aside, I've had a pretty cool week. How about you? Last night I had a friend's 40th birthday party, where the biggest gift of all was the news that she and her family are coming back to Sydney to live. Yay! I worked 2 days at the yarn store, which was tiring but enjoyable. I had a lovely dinner with a friend, and am about to go off and have brunch with another. Mid week I got a bit down, but that was just the tiredness of working 6 days a week and a couple of late nights back to back.

All up a week full of win, as the young people would say.

I have a two day weekend of sorts this weekend, which I'm happy about. Monday is a bank holiday and I'm temping in the banking industry 4 days a week at present, so no other option than to take a day off on Monday. Frankly, missing a day's pay is a bit sucky but I'll be glad to have the day off. I might even take myself off to the movies to see the new Harry Potter film, as an empty cinema in the middle of the day is a whole other kind of win. No yucky popcorn smells (see #36), just for starters...

This Is So Totally Me Right Now

...and my reactions to my current home computer problems.



Although, I must say, I did pick up a few pointers to try.

5 Things About The Week That Was

• Home computron still hasn't gone in for repairs yet. Working 2 jobs for 6 days a week has meant that I haven't had a chance to get into the Apple store yet. They had better really be geniuses when I get there, let me tell you.
  
• I am really enjoying working 2 days a week at the yarn store... sore feet, nutty customers and all. Yes the pay is crapola, but I've been genuinely having fun working retail again and the occasional nut adds a bit of spice to the day (and throws all the lovely customers into sharp relief). Nobody has challenged my y-chromosome based knitting authority yet, in fact I've so far made some nannas twinkle with delight, pushed the Courthouse Hotel pub knitting Sundays to some right-on sistas, and even got to serve (I wish) a truly, truly hot male knitter. Yes I have his phone number (for stock holding purposes) and no, I won't abuse the privilege. Sadly.
  
• Speaking of knitting, I've been wearing my new scarf almost constantly since I cast-off on Thursday night. Loving. It. I made this! Common sense prevailed, after a brief internal battle I decided not to wear it to bed.
  
• Hung-over today. I went to a party with young James O'Brien last night, and as the party was only 2 streets away from my favourite leather bar Manacle, of course we ended up there about 1am. Oy. (Yes the above mentioned scarf was on and looked lovely, even if 'art fag' isn't my usual Manacle look.)
  
• Of course, as you would expect my next destination is a pub, but this time for Sunday knitting. If only I could entice Hot Male Customer to join us?... and suddenly we're back at knitting, boys and booze. Such is the week that was.

Hey, Is This Thing On?

I just visited my local library for my weekly bout of free web surfing and annoyance, only to discover that their computers are all down. Let me tell you, nothing gets the denizens of my local library computer area (Sniffing Man, Aggro Hiker Lesbian, Tutting Frau & Borderline Homeless Or Maybe Just Hygenically Challenged Guy, to name but a few) annoyed like deprivation of their free internet access. Oh the wailing and the nashing of teeth... and I always thought libraries were supposed to be quiet places.

It's funny how some people react to a change of circumstances. An older Indian chap walked in not longer after the librarians had explained that a power snafu meant that their would be no computers for you! today, walked up to the row of seriously off computers, read the Out Of Order signs, then proceeded to walk along and tap the keyboards of each one. So I (helpfully) told him that the computers are out of order.

Yes, they are out of order.

Yes, I am sure.

Yes, the librarians did in fact tell me so.

Yes, all of them.

Oh yes, I am most definitely sure.

30 seconds later I heard him asking the librarians. I guess my natural air of authority just doesn't wash with some people. Whatever. This man was having serious comprehension issues that the Universe somehow took away the free computers. 15 minutes later, while I was browsing the stacks, he was at the counter asking "Will there be computers tomorrow?". The librarian started out with a reasonable, justifiable, estimation that given the problem was a) diagnosed and b) rectified, there would probably be computers tomorrow.

No, she can't guarantee it.

No, it isn't definite that there will be computers tomorrow.

No, they aren't sure why at this stage.

No, she can't say for sure they will be working tomorrow.

Until finally she gave him what he wanted.

Yes, there will be computers tomorrow.

Everyone has their limits.

Your Weekly Update

Ugh, sorry that posts have been so few and far between of late. The home computron is still dead, mostly because I am now working 2 jobs and haven't had time to take it in to get fixed. Yup, in true me style rather than no job I now have 2. Feast or famine. All or nothing. No shades of grey here baby, I got your black... and your white.

As well as temping 4 days a week I'm now also working as a shop girl in a yarn store. Butch! It actually pays even worse than the temping does, so for working 6 days a week I only come out a little ahead. But hey, it has a few factors in its favour, a) temp work often dries up without much warning, and should that be the case then I always have the yarn store to fall back on, b) yarn!, c) STORE DISCOUNT. The trick will be not to spend more money on nummy, nummy yarn than I am actually earning. Working in the store has been more fun than I expected, even though only having a 1 day weekend kind of sucks.

Mind you, having to work early on a Saturday morning didn't stop me from going out on Friday night in the company of a whole bunch of men of the homosexualist persuasion. Hurrah for the 'bears' night at The Flinders Hotel! I didn't get to bed until after 2am, but managed to rouse myself surprisingly well the next morning. Yes I did nearly faceplant into my dinner at some friends' house last night, and once we repaired to the sofas I was a heavy lidded gonner, but the point was I soldiered through. Curiously, 20 years ago I was working in retail and having late nights clubbing, followed by early mornings standing moderately functional at a cash register.

I guess some things never change.

Checking In, And Not Checking Out

Hey there! Computer still dead, but despite a possible, almost, no kidding it was that close brush with potential death (or at least wounding) myself, I'm still here. It has been a curious week.

Adding to my list of new experiences I was working on a file archiving project in a bank branch last Tuesday when it was held up by a guy with a sawn-off shotgun. For reals! I was working in a little office off the main banking area, so when I heard a scream, a loud crash and then all sorts of commotion, it took a little while for me to figure out what was going on. My first thought was that a car had mounted the footpath and struck the glass sliding doors at the front of the bank, but when I stuck my head out of the office and saw people cowering behind desks I decided to jump back into the office kind of sharpish. Beckoning a young couple who were standing confusedly just outside the office to come on in and join me out of the line of sight. There was commotion, confusion, a few more screams and it wasn't until the police showed up very soon after that I found out the bang was a sawn-off shotgun being fired.

Long story short, for want of anything else better to do I went back into the office and finished my work. Can you say strong work ethic? The rest of the day was a strange combination of finishing up my work, waiting around, being questioned by police, dodging the media outside the (now closed) bank and listening to the senior bank staff tell tales of other robberies. There is a particular sort of jollity, camaraderie and bravado that seems to come after a shared scary experience like this. I left after giving the particularly cute bear cub of a police officer my phone number (strictly for professional reasons, you understand) and just as the counsellor arrived to speak to all of the bank's staff.

The rest of the week was rather less dramatic and a lot more pleasant; dinner with a friend, more archiving work at some other thankfully unrobbed bank branches, some quiet nights in trying to figure out if/how/when I could claim Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (kidding!) and then a lovely weekend spent in the mountains with some knitting buddies visiting from New Zealand. The weekend was fun, gorgeous scenery, great companionship, heaps of knitting by the fire and even a sock finally cast-off! If my computer was working I'd post some pics, but until then imagine mountains, limestone caves, a bunch of us bundled against the cold and the smile of satisfaction that somes with a finished sock.

Short Break

I decided to download and install the latest software updates and security patches yesterday for the Mac laptop I'm using, in part to see if it helps the problem I'm having with it crashing. It seems I've overwhelmed it. It now freezes part way through start-up and won't go any further. PC users are used to the Blue Screen Of Death, but I have to tell you the subtle grey on grey Mac screen with the Apple logo replaced by a circle with a slash through it (like a No Smoking logo) and the little endless spinning doohickey is just as dispiriting. Technology hates me. So I'm off to the grand Apple store today to see what they can do, and more importantly if they will do it for free.

In the meantime it's back to internet cafes (you should see the keyboard I'm using... ugh), and so my recently sporadic updates are likely to be even more sporadic in the short term. Hang in there gentle reader, as soon as I bend technology to my will, instead of the other way around, I'll be back!

Alchemy

While I've been sitting at home with my cold, or waiting for the phone to ring with offers of highly paid and fascinating employment, I've been knitting. There is something so therapeutic about the gentle interplay of needles and thread. The rhythmic click and clack, the unwinding of some more yarn from a ball or spindle, the feel of the yarn as it slides over and through your fingers. While I've been staying in and trying to gently shepherd my precious (as in scarce!) financial resources, knitting has provided a useful barrier between me and daytime tv.

Dumb tv is only half as dumb if you're only half watching.

Even better if you hit upon a project that grows like Topsy, instant gratification knitting! Two thin Japanese threads, one a slubby silk and the other a silk wrapped stainless steel filament, held together and knitted on chunkier 5mm needles. 20 stitches wide in simple garter stitch and going like the clappers!



Knit. Turn. Knit. Turn... A long, long skinny scarf with asymmetrical ends to be wound around and around, with a beautiful drape but a curious texture and heft from the stainless steel thread. A scarf that says part art fag and part this wearer knows their Rei Kawakubo from their Yohji Yamamoto. A scarf in haiku.



Not exactly spinning straw into gold but there is some sort of alchemy at work here. Stainless steel into fabric. Who would have thought?

5 Things About Thursday, 2nd of July: Somewhat Whingetastic Edition

• My house is fuh-reezing. It's a cool, sunny, windy day but inside it's got to be something like 5 or more degrees colder. In summer I promise to come back and read this post, when I'm enjoying how cool my house is.
  
• No work this week. Very little work last week on account of my cold. Not working has it's charms but I am so broke I daren't even look at my bank account.
  
• I'm having computer issues, the laptop I was kindly given on long term loan by a friend has taken to shutting down without warning. Frequently. At times, constantly. Time to visit the genius bar at the Apple store methinks.
  
• I'm knitting up the Japanese silk and stainless steel yarns I bought recently into a long, skinny, lacy scarf and I'm loving the results. I'll post a photo once the project has progressed a little further.
  
• My cold has gone. Adios to my second cold of this winter! The other thing that seems to have gone [touch wood] is the restless legs problem I had that stopped me from sleeping properly. After about a year of paying $134 a month for the meds, I weaned myself of them about 6 weeks ago to see if I could do without them. Miracle! I'm still sleeping through the night, with no sign of the problem returning.

Lazy Days

I didn't have any temp work today, so I spent the day pottering around. Doing some knitting. A burger lunch at a nearby cafe. Some coffees and a bit of Oprah on the teev (Until I realised I could not stomach a full episode about preacher Ted Haggard and the fact that he is 'no longer troubled' by homosexual thoughts. Bah. Whatever.). A day of stuff.

I had a job interview late last week at a yarn store in the city. They really liked me and I liked them, but the salary is the killer. You always know you're in trouble when the prospective employer is embarrassed to tell you how much (or rather, how little) the position pays. So they asked me to think about it and today I rang them to see if there was still a casual position on offer. I wouldn't be able to live on what they are paying their full-time employees, but as a second job that I supplement by continuing to do temping, well that could work. So the ball is back in their court.

Tonight I'm off to a wine tasting at a local gay bar. Fun! $10 gets you a tasting glass which you can refill as many times over as you want from the different wines being presented. There's finger food and special offers on the wines being sampled, and each month a different winery presents their wines. Maybe it's a good thing that it looks like I'm not working tomorrow either...

Winter Wonderland

I woke up feeling marginally better today, like my cold was on the retreat. I had a lazy start to the morning, lying in bed with a good homemade coffee and crying my way (manfully) through the last couple of chapters of Jenny Kee's autobiography A Big Life. (Wow, what a life! It's a cracking read.)

By early afternoon I was climbing the wall with cabin fever, so I packed a pocketful of tissues, grabbed my camera and umbrella, and decided to go for a nice long walk. I ended up walking for over 2 hours, mostly around the suburb of Petersham, with one short detour for a quiet afternoon schooner of beer at The Clarence when the rain started pelting down. After 3 days of lolling in bed or on the sofa it was nice to get out and get some fresh air, and finding little treats like a footpath paved in golden ginko leaves and suburban fence topped with gnome sentinels buoyed the spirit as well. A nice afternoon and just what the doctor ordered.

Golden ginko leaves underfoot.


A leaden winter sky with ginko leaves in silhouette, just shortly before the rain started pelting down.



A gorgeous pink and white camelia, a lovely punch of colour on a greay day.


Pink azaleas peeping through a weathered fence.


I was entranced by this fence with it's gnome sentinels.

[Click any of the pics to enbiggen them on Flickr.]

Sickbed Confessional

I have a flu-y cold. I got chills, they're multiplying. Jesus, Mary and Joseph (and all the holy saints of heaven) I am over this Winter! Seriously, one malade after another. One of the women I have been working with came to work for several days with a streaming flu, so I guess it's not that unexpected. Oh and the work I was doing dried up, as we finished the project faster than they expected. Now I have to wait until another site comes online (soon hopefully), or I can pick up some other temp work elsewhere. Meanwhile I'm taking to the sofa for a few days to get over this cold.

The only acceptable cure for flu, and daytime tv, is to watch endless clips on youtube of Lily May Veronica Savage. Truly. I've heard of laughing through the tears, but you can laugh through the snot as well. (Too much?)

My computer is allergic to my blog! Recently, every time I try to view my blog in Firefox or Safari it crashes the browser. I can log into blogger and write posts, but I can't actually view my blog or make a comment. Weird huh? I updated Firefox but it made no difference. Everyone's a critic! Sheesh. "Bugger off, I'm not displaying that shite!" I suspect it's something to do with Flash because anything with a Flash movie on it (and trust me, those are some of my favourite websites... are you with me?) seems to crash it. Youtube excepted, so maybe that blows the theory out of the water. Most blogger blogs seem to be crashing it at the moment as well.

Technology is rebelling against me and I will not stand for it. The last (unreachable) downlight in my bedroom blew last night, so it's strictly the flattering light of the bedside table from this point on. No it's not the bulbs, I risked life and limb to change them only a short while back. I think it's the transformers, or something. It'll have to wait until I have the $$s to get a man in because in my opinion, somethings are best left to the experts. Wiring and all things electricity related being the top of the list.

I had a big shop yesterday and bought a pantry full of healthy food. Last night I made a lentil casserole (yummy!) from this book, and tonight's plan is a tempeh dish with ginger and lime. However, being sick and all that, what I really would rather do is just have a bag of crisps and then maybe order a pizza...

Lane Walking: Weekes Lane, Newtown

Looking at the bright clear light in these pictures it seems almost impossible that I only took these last month. I heard someone on the tv say that we've had 8 days of rain in the past 10 days. Really? Only 8? Blech, Winter I am over you already. Thankfully the Winter Solstice was a few days back and now it means we are on the gentle climb towards Spring.

Anyhoo, Weekes Lane. I love Weekes Lane! One of my friend's has a back garden courtyard and back gate that opens onto Weekes Lane, and the first time I visited I realised that Weekes Lane was something special. A bit of an art gallery of street art that is frequently changed and renewed. I have even seen guided tours of the lane during Sydney festival events. Some of the works I shot have gone already, been defaced or painted over.

But that is entirely the nature of the art. And one of the reasons I find it so exciting!

For me photographing these is a way of ensuring that when they are painted over or defaced, they can live on in my archives. With my memories of a bright sunny afternoon wandering with my camera.

[Click to see them full sized on Flickr.]

Raucous Caucus

For the first time in my life I feel like I have, at least, a basic understanding of parts of the US political system. My insider in the media (and bestower of complimentary tickets) Mr James O'Brien invited me to the premiere of a new Aussie documentary film "First Stop Iowa". The film examines the Democratic Party primaries, with a special focus on the Iowa caucus. The intricacies are a little too complicated to examine in a short blog post (especially when I should already be in bed a half an hour ago), but the film examines the changes to the system that were generated by the tumultuous 1968 Democratic Party conference, and how that has created a system where the small state of Iowa has such an important role in in party politics.

Surprisingly engaging stuff, and I think some of that comes from the fact that the film focusses on the 'grass roots' campaign efforts of the various candidates' supporters. It manages to humanise and demystify a system that seems kind of odd to those of us looking in from outside the system, and without caucuses, electoral colleges and multi-multi-million dollar campaigns. Much of the footage was supplied by individuals attending the various rallies and campaign parties, and has an intimate feel. One thing that struck me about the difference in our political cultures is the zeal, enthusiasm and energy involved in the campaigns. Bread in part by the need to engage voters in a non-compulsory voting environment. Fascinating stuff, and although we know the outcome of the 2009 election you can't help but get caught up in the momentum of the Obama campaign as the election draws closer. I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.

Great To See You!

I think I'd like to run into Will Arnett in the street some day.

Great To See You Feat. Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Peter Serafinowicz and Sarah Alexander - watch more funny videos

Mmmm, the smell of your hair!