To Lee, With Love

Ok ... an amazing tribute to Alexander McQueen with an exclusive track from Bjork ... magic!

That krafty silverhaired and silvertongued Dyson

Ok ... today I stood in front of some Dyson bladeless fans and blissfully fell in love. There's a touch of the Gerry Anderson's about all this, and James himself could pass as a Thunderbird doll in all his neat and tight silverhairedness.

But I spent the better part of 15 minutes basking in the "non-buffeting" even gushes of air, childishly moving my hands back and forth through the bladeless rings of each of the versions on display. Hell it just looks plain sexy!! Santa?

Tis the season to be shmaltzy

Ok confession time!! I love Christmas music ... the schmaltzier the better!!! If it gives you diabetes and cavities then its perfect yuletide fodder for my iphone.

The mother of all Christmas albums has to be The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait which has the quintessential Christmas Overture (a tad on the yank side ... but it trully is evocative of the whole Christmas experience) amongst all the other conventional christmas tunes given the MOR treatment by Karen and her sibling Richard.

Make no mistake, this is retail Christmas for the frantic hours pushing through harried crowds looking for the perfect gift that suits the ever shrinking budget. But it keeps the jollification tandem riding high and helps concentrates the mind on those Christmas's of yore

Oh the memories this album stirs ... chucking a tanty to get that new Christmas outfit with the mandarin collar and the accompanying vest, catching up with old family friends at midnight mass and showing said outfit off, gazing wide-eyed at those twinkly Christmas lights and almost hyperventilating at all those presents gaily wrapped under the tree, the seemingly endless rounds of parties and dinners and church do's with interminable bouts of Carol singing which we took in our childish stride, the masking tape over the crudenza guarding mum's brandy soaked dried fruit for christmas pudding from prying fingers and greedy mouths, hanging out with C's friends after the Youth Choir Christmas concert once again in said Christmas outfit ... oh I could go on and on ... all of these slices of nostalgia packaged into one single album that is now pretty much out of print.

I can't think of any record that has been released since that comes even close to these 2 sides of sheer Christmas perfection, although a fine runner up is Diana Krall's Christmas Songs ... maybe I just love alto voices, but jazz and Christmas go together like proverbial horse and carriage.

Merry Christmas Darling still makes me feel warm inside and sad at the same time. Things were so much simpler way back when ...

The Nation's Capitol

Ok ... dear Canberra, you certainly are more lush and green (when there is enough rain) than Melbourne, and your stately buildings rise above the foliage in all their arctosian bauhaus glory as peaens to bureacratic diplomacy, but more importantly you hold something closer and dearer to my heart ... a very good friend.

 View of Black mountain from hotel room

I spent 2 rather wet days soaking in the sites of our nation's capitol. I was stuck amongst an all girls grade school gymnastics team on the plane ... thank god the flight was short ... we seemed to have taken off, and then we were preparing to land with hardly time to finish a bottle of water. There was time enough for countless lolly swops and nintendo ds convos. When we were landing one girl piped up "keep chewing, keep chewing!!" which cracked the rest of the troupe up ... must have been an in joke.

Anyhoo with an hour to iron shirts and freshen up, DC & J kindly picked me up and took me on a brief sojourn through Canberra's highlights, before returning to their gorgeous apartment for drink and conversation. As always, D's taste remains impeccable and it was great to catch up on all the goss.

The evening ended in food, drink and laughter over at the Manse (i.e. D's sister M's house) where I learnt how terribly small the Canberra social set is, this is 6 degrees of separation in action, and where I chuckled quietly that a rave in Canberra could end at 11pm and that 10000 is a whopping great attendance number.

The Manse

Pigging out!

It was all business on Monday but the charming ladies at the National gallery took us on a brief tour and boy what a gallery!! I must come back and view it all in detail. And James Turrell's Skyspace will be on the top of the list.

D, if you are reading this ... thank you soooo much. I really had the best time.

Recherche - World Aids Day

Ok ... "And suddenly the memory revealed itself: The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane."  - Marcel Proust (Remembrance of Things Past)

I usually mark this day with grievous sobriety ... and our community has had to get used to many such moments by default. But we are also known for wild abandon, colour and wit, so lets acknowledge our hard won laurels by trashing the fabric and being appalled by the colours ... fuck sobriety ... I want to remember the good and tacky times ... and celebrate lives that brought us joy and gaiety!

temasek's rant!!

Ok ... what the fuck, thats all I can say ... metlink can barely get the trains in on time but they are organised enough to put on special services for the ... wait for it ... U2 gigs in December!!!!! Outrageous!

Metro will be running extra trains to get you to and from Etihad Stadium for the U2 concerts on Wednesday, 1 December 2010 and Friday, 3 December 2010.


Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Before the concert there will be additional trains to Flinders Street Station from:

Sandringham departing 6.37pm and 6.58pm (stopping all stations)
Frankston departing 6.03pm (express to Flinders Street)
Dandenong departing 6.17pm (stopping all stations)
Frankston departing 6.08pm (stopping all stations to Glenhuntly, then stopping at Caulfield, Malvern, South Yarra, Richmond and Flinders Street)

After the concert there will be additional trains from Southern Cross Station to:

Upper Ferntree Gully departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Lilydale departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Glen Waverley departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Epping departing platform 9 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Greensborough departing platform 9 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Pakenham departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Frankston departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Sandringham departing platform 8/9 (stopping all stations)
Cranbourne departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)

Saturday, 3 December

Before the concert there will be additional trains to Flinders Street Station from:

Sandringham departing 6.37pm and 6.58pm (stopping all stations)
Frankston departing 6.03pm (express to Flinders Street)
Frankston departing 6.08pm (stopping all stations to Glenhuntly, then stopping at Caulfield, Malvern, South Yarra, Richmond and Flinders Street)

After the concert there will be additional trains from Southern Cross Station to:

Upper Ferntree Gully departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Lilydale departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Glen Waverley departing platform 10 (stopping all stations except East Richmond via City Loop)
Epping departing platform 9 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Greensborough departing platform 9 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Pakenham departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Frankston departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)
Sandringham departing platform 8/9 (stopping all stations)
Cranbourne departing platform 12 (stopping all stations via City Loop)

And apparently, no one in the West will be attending by the looks of it.

I am soooo disgusted. Bono should go back to Ireland and pay his taxes and do some real good for a change!

A plague of Mosquitoes

Ok ... the humble mosquito, how do I hate thee, let me count the ways ... everyone's blaming the rains, but my thoughts turn to armageddon ... this is some end of days shit right here!!

They came in apocalyptic droves and set up camp in the corners of the ceiling to torment me with feelings of despair and desperation ... never in my "27" years here on earth have I witnessed such numbers in a built up area ... and I have slept in unspoilt jungles under humid conditions rife for all manner of entomolgical hi-jinx ...

Thanks to the trusty hoover I have fought an unending battle with these pesky squatters in the last 3 days ... I have now lost the fight and will leave the snap cold to wreak its havoc ...

I want to move!!!

Plangent no more - Vale Gorecki

Ok ... Gorecki ... revived classical music in the 90s and paved the way for chill out compilations everywhere including a piece of Sunday morning radio slop in order to maintain relevance! But still, loads of yoof cottoned on to the fact that there are a lot more musical genres out there to explore ... and one two three the struggling second hand record store experienced a rennaisance in sales ... and busloads of wannabe DJs were found back-bent trawling through endless boxes hidden under racks ... looking for that perfect sample to complete their banging 'choon'!

I digress ... Gorecki - Polish and Spiky and avant garde ... but also capable of the most heart-wrenching and plaintive melodies this side of Romantic music (bet that pissed off the avant-garders) ... alas you compose no more ... but we are forever enriched by your talent and mastery.

And for good contemporary measure, inspired by Gorecki, here is Lamb's paean to the man:

Lamb - Gorecki

Uploaded by Angkor. - See the latest featured music videos.

"if i should die this very moment
i wouldn't fear
for i've never known completeness
like being here
wrapped in the warmth of you
loving every breath of you
still my heart this moment
or it might burst

could we stay right here
'til the end of time, 'til the earth stops turning
wanna love you 'til the seas run dry
i've found the one i've waited for

all this time i've loved you
and never known your face
all this time i've missed you
and searched this human race
here is true peace
here my heart knows calm
safe in your soul
bathed in your sighs
wanna stay right here
'til the end of time, 'til the earth stops turning
gonna love you 'til the seas run dry
i've found the one i've waited for
the one i've waited for

all i've known
all i've done
all i've felt was leading to this
all i've known
all i've done
all i've felt was leading to this
wanna stay right here
'til the end of time, 'til the earth stops turning
gonna love you 'til the seas run dry
i've found the one i've waited for
the one i've waited for

wanna stay right here
'til the end of time, 'til the earth stops turning
gonna love you 'til the seas run dry
i've found the one i've waited for
the one i've waited for

the one i've waited for...

Random thoughts ... Food

Ok ... lets do a food round up (or lets put up some dodgy photos and write some text about them):

(i) Drinks with the effervescent CC at The Carlton Hotel:

The revamped Carlton Hotel like all the new melbourne bar variants on a large scale is a mix of faux edwardian/gothic/50s - 60s vintage and a bit of 70s and 80s revisionisim thrown in ... i.e. the whole "wow retro is cool" mindset which is a little passe (heroin is so ...)!! Oh and someone find me some free wall space to splash on some graffitti or pretend stencil art ... coz that will sooo up the hipster quotient.

Anyhoo, its still a nice outdoor area to imbibe and inhale ... and there was that girl in the leotard, shiny green mad hatter jacket and the 60s white boots! So maybe all this faux retro frippery is working after all!

Some pork thing

Flashy plastic outdoor area at the top

(ii) Dinner at Chuji soon after drinks at the Carlton Hotel

I love Izikayas. The more the merrier I say. There's nothing like pigging out but tricking your psyche into thinking that it has been in healthy moderation because the servings are small ... oh yeah right! (Did I mention I'm stacking it on??)

Just a small selection of what was actually consumed that night

(iii) CBA Friday night feed at Dong Que

We were inspired by a recent post by the ebullient Ms baklover of Footscray Food Blog to revisit this humble little cafe on the culinary byway which is Hopkins Street, Footscray. What I like about this place is that they don't pull any punches with their food ... none of that usual watered down for a western palate muck that masquerades as vietnamese/chinese ... and I've not been to vietnam myself, but I'm thinking that the menu here is a pretty good representation of vietnamese street food. Oh and the Bun Xiao is HUGE!!!

Goi Cuon par excellence

Excellent Dried beef and green papaya salad ... no ... seriously excellent!!!

Steamed rice paper roll with grilled pork

(iv) CBA Friday at Chef Lagenda

The owners of Chef Lagenda have terrific business acumen ... setting up shop next to the ridiculously popular Laksa King was an extremely wise decision as they can simply sit back and the overflow mops itself up ... in fact, you will find that Chef Lagenda now commands its own queue for a table. If you don't live on the eastern side of town, then these 2 flemington hot spots are the closest thing you're going to get to half decent Malaysian food. (There is of course Chomp Chomp in the city and Malaymas in Northcote.)

The food here is reasonable. I wouldn't necessarily call it mindblowing, but in many ways, beggars can't really be choosers. The only way you can experience top quality malaysian food is in situ, in the heat and bustle of a hawker centre/coffee shop/roadside stall with the longest queues!

But there was one big cross!! In our part of the world (i.e. SE Asia) when you order Hor Fun, it is a given that you are referring to Fried Hor Fun (malaysians, please feel free to correct me if this is not the case). If you wanted a soupy version of Hor Fun (i.e. Kway Teow Soup), you would then have to sprecify this accordingly. So it was to my utmost chagrin that our Hor Fun came to the table in a bowl! Sacrilege!!! And of course the waitress that we queried this with was from mainland China. But still, its pretty decent fare and worth a visit.

Dubious Hor Fun

Surprisingly proficient Tofu stirfried veg

And the Jewel in the Crown - Duck with Ginger - recommended!!!

Random Thoughts ... again

Ok ... dear blog, yet again I am guilty of neglect. Too long have I let the greyness of life suffuse every conceivable spectrum of my colour wand. I will endeavour to right this as I stand before the precipice of the holiday season, ready to plunge into a vortex of social functions and frenzied gift buying ... the horror, the horror!

But let me pen a few random thoughts which I may expand on at a later date:

(i) Naked for Satan ... Beezelbub targets the wrong end (i.e. suburban tourists) of Fitzroy and doesn't quite live up to expectations
(ii) M wins a packet of cock rings and something called the Love Pacifier (answers on a postcard peops!)
(iii) Will Anderson - a two-hander (I'll leave that one up to your imagination)
(iv) Footscray - how I still love thee!!
(v) the house is clean!! May introduce a no-shoe policy, but only after the Bro has been and gone
(vi) we're off to the Sunshine Coast and singers in the new year
(vii) Saffron gin rocks my world
(viii) I have no clothes for this warmer weather (and you can read into this that I am losing my battle against the bulge)

Time for rest and rejuvenation. Good luck and good night!

PS - I LOVE CROSS MULTIPLICATION ... god I'm such a loser!
PPS - what the hell is Zero Sum? The world is leaving us behind indeed!!