Jon's Blog of Stuff

So...Where Have You Been?

2011-11-22T03:32:00.000+11:00

To be honest, I've kept busy throughout my stay in Shanghai, whether it be work, meeting new people or activities, I've not gone travelling around to a great extent. In the last few weeks I decided to plan a few trips, one to Suzhou and another to Hangzhou, both highly regarded cities by the locals. The question for me is how to navigate through a city which is not as developed as Shanghai.

Suzhou
I decided to enlist the services of a tour, which entailed a private car and tour guide for 8 hours. Given the destination was1.5 hours away, this left little time to navigate and explore. On a drizzly day, we went to the famed gardens and Tiger hill while dropping into a local restaurant for some food.

The gardens I must say were underwhelming, perhaps due to the time of year, or because some other cities I'd visited had blown me away. The benefit of choosing a private tour paid off at lunchtime as there was the flexibility to choose a place on the street whilst in the city centre. Without a tourist in sight, I was able to get some assistance in choosing some local dishes from a restaurant that would not probably meet half of the health and safety standards back home. A man makes dumplings downstairs, while an elderly old woman took orders and handed you a receipt to take upstairs where your order was fulfilled as you waited. Suzhou cuisine I've been told is sweeter, and that was certainly reflected in the dumplings. Some noodles and another portion of dumplings later and it was back on the road to visit Tiger hill.

Seeing a city being developed is quite a sight, with kilometers of road being blocked off, a subway was being built, while cars maneuvered their way across the roads. To reduce the dependence on cars and bikes will certainly ease traffic congestion and perhaps enable the vast population to set their sights on cities other than Beijing and Shanghai.

Tiger hill was bustling with flag waving tour groups, while the best spots were where there were not a flag or megaphone in sight, proving again that catering for the masses doesn't always result in the best experience.

Hangzhou
Luckily a friend volunteered to accompany me to Hangzhou, which proved invaluable when purchasing tickets. Meeting at a station that resembled more of an airport lounge than a train station, thousands of people milled around waiting to board trains to varies nearby cities. While much maligned in the media due to an accident earlier in the year, I felt no issues boarding the train for a 1 hour journey travelling up to 300kms/hour. Spacious and efficient, the train whooshed us through the countryside of China to our destination without worrying about traffic at around $28aud round trip. A note to tourists - you need to carry your passport when taking the train as one of my unsuspecting friends found out. That is unless being surrounded by police thinking you were trying to seek asylum in China is something you wish to experience.

The West lake is the main attraction in Hangzhou and for good reason. The expansive lake enables the plethora of tourists to be spread to large clusters rather than rubbing uncomfortably against each other at each step as is the case in other tourist spots. The entire lake is too long to walk by foot and I dare not risk riding a bicycle with such an unpredictable crowd, so we walked about a third and opted for an electric car tour for the rest. Then, hiring a row boat we floated on the lake and soaked in one of the last remaining days of sunshine before winter hits. There were many other places to visit in the town, but there was something quite nice just lying there with the day ticking away - besides, I didn't feel the urge to fight my way through crowds to get a glimpse of a different tourist attraction. Fortunately the assumed thick layer of pollution protected me from getting sunburnt!

I've just returned from a ~4 day trip to Taipei and what I saw was interesting to say the least. The contrast between the two countries is quite amazing... Anyway for discussion on another day...

Follow the Red Flag

2011-11-13T18:14:00.000+11:00

It was good to get a cold out of the way early in the season and it was inevitable as covering one's mouth or nose when sneezing or coughing is a rare display of manners amongst the public here. Subsequently, I was sick for the golden week and wasn't able to utilise the week long holiday during October. I was however able to venture out on the weekend and decided to travel to all the tourist spots that have eluded me so far. When working in a city for an extended period you tend to push back the 'touristy' sites as you feel you've got plenty of time to visit them, however with around a month and half to go, I felt I need to make better use of my time here.

So, over a two day period, I ticked off Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower, Yu Garden, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai History Museum and the Shanghai Aquarium. Solid without being spectacular, I've found it seems to be one of the aspects of the city that hasn't developed at breakneck speed. The scores of people at Yu Garden during the day make it a nightmare to walk through, while I'm sure my head has popped into a number of photos as I navigated my way through the crowd. While at the pearl tower, the mandatory skyline view of the city provides a perspective of how large and dispersed the city really is. Finally at the aquarium an excellent display of marine wildlife is on show, with the highlight being the longest underground walkway, providing a spectacular experience as a variety of creatures swim around you.

Last week I headed off to Suzhou, yesterday Hangzhou and later I'll make a short visit to Taiwan. Coupled with about 5 days of drinking this week am I hearing the feint sounds of trying to cram everything in before I live to regret it?

Fish Food

2011-10-07T23:34:00.000+11:00

A three hour drive from Shanghai and it is a relief to get out of the concrete jungle that is the main city. Not having experienced a hot spring - I failed to venture to an Onsen in my trips Japan - it was something I was curious about and Tianmu lake was the destination. Before the trip, I had to organise some swimming trunks, as this particular hot spring was not au naturel.

Not unlike cows in a prodding yard, men and women are separated upon arrival to the hot spring, where a multitude of attendants usher you through the maze of change rooms to your locker which matches a plastic wristband which acts as a magnetic contact key. Hence one of my curiosities of how you secure your belongings while wallowing in some hot water was solved - eg not a traditional door key.

Imagining large pools where people congregated, I was surprised with the layout, where around 50 small pools peppered the landscape. There were a variety of different pools, ranging in temperature (up to 52 degrees) and content, - which I'll touch on later - while budgie smugglers made unwelcome appearances throughout. Sitting in the hot spring, it certainly was relaxing and if it were devoid of people, I could get a lot of thinking done, on what exactly I'm not sure.

Walking throughout the resort and going from hot spring to hot spring, there were some interesting varieties, including one filled with beer (a waste I say, but didn't dare take a sip), lavender and by far the strangest was fish. In a cooler spring, for just 15 yuan (~$2.5aud) you could sit in a pool where little fish nibbled away at your dead skin. Be sure to keep you head above water, so as not to swallow fish excrement, while those who opted for budgie smugglers rested easy as the little fish could not venture into unwanted territory. It's a strange feeling to have fish nibble away at parts of your body, and regardless of whether or not I got any benefit or just provided some fish food it was a unique experience.

As Golden Week in China ends, - three days of public holidays followed by some well timed annual leave - it's a shame that I managed to catch a cold and been stuck watching some atrocitious acting and lines from War of the Worlds instead of venturing around town. However, I did stumble across a great service here, where a delivery company for just $2.5aud, arranges ordering, pickup and delivery of your chosen food from participating restaurants. Eg you have a hankering for a local Japanese place? Log onto the delivery service website which replicates the restaurant's menu, select your order and presto, it's delivered with no fuss. It saves worrying if the restaurant can understand English, while also provides an easy way to sample a variety of restaurants.

It's a Dinosaur!

2011-09-18T21:35:00.000+10:00

It's been many years since I've visited the local zoo in Melbourne and I haven't gone to the Werribee open range zoo either, so whether this ranks high or low in the zoo rankings I cannot say, but last week I ventured out to the Shanghai Wildlife Zoo.

The Monday being a public holiday (thankfully occurrences of public holidays here is not desolate in the second half like back home, with a 5 day weekend approaching!) I travelled by train and bus (thankfully with a local) out to a 153 hectare zoo wandering around for about 5 hours. In such a large area, we were able to walk around freely, even with the multitude of people milling around. The usual suspects in terms of animals were present, most in large enclosures and even some were permissible to feed. Thank goodness for the SLR, as I was able to get some good snaps of a giraffe with a tongue Gene Simmons would be envious of. Finally, lugging around the camera paid some dividends!

Impressive reach

You can't visit a Chinese zoo without seeing panda, and I was thankful to get a glimpse of 3. Thinking that there was to be a line 10-15 deep reminiscent of the subway, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to navigate my way around and get a few snaps. Yes, they were about as active as one of those people you see on "Amazing Medical Stories" who are 200kgs, but they're just so damn cute you feel like going up and patting them.

This was as active as the lovable panda got!

With around 2 hours to go before closing, we noticed on the map that there was an area only accessible by vehicle. Seeing some large passenger buses we thought that they were ferrying locals to the zoo from other places, however upon closer inspection, there were 2 bus lines to visit another area of the zoo: Regular passenger buses, and another which carried around 40 people, which one of the staff mentioned: "Is much better than the other ones". Not knowing what to expect, we paid, lined up and waited. Important: This bus was a cage with wheels with outward facing seats and no windows. A much better choice! However, for those thinking of going, the left side of the bus has a much better view! Without much knowledge of what we'd be seeing, the bus took off.

Not unlike a scene from Jurassic Park, a manned gate opened where the vehicle drives into a holding area. Once inside, the gate behind closes, and the one in front opens, complete with signs about electrified fences and warnings for broken down vehicles. (I could hear Jeff Goldblum's delivering a on-liner) Inside, zebras, buffalo, and gazelles roamed freely, while other areas (through separate gates) housed bears, tigers, lions and cheetahs. Unfortunately with the bars being so close together, getting a clean photo was difficult, however seeing a tiger up close and personal was a great experience. The vehicle is allocated one 'free' chicken, which is dropped from a chute and gobbled up in a flash. 60 yuan would allow for another chicken, and a tiger was teased before the chicken was granted an extended 10-15 minutes before the next bus circuit.

Happy to see this rare animal

When are they going to drop one of those pesky humuns through the chute?

Finally, we ventured to a seal show which was enjoyable albeit short, however it was included in the cost of the ticket, so I can't complain. What was noticeable however was the extreme amount of excrement offloaded during the performance which perhaps could be put down to nerves from the performers. In any case it was a good show despite the fact that the water looked like it hadn't been changed in a few years.

Let's hope the tap water is better quality

Impressive vertical leap

To finish off the night, some dumplings and tsingtao (Chinese beer) replenished the energy reserves. I've got to say some of the places in Melbourne have some pretty good dumplings when compared to the ones here... I'm impressed.

I'm Too Old For This Sh!t

2011-09-06T00:16:00.000+10:00

The line from the Lethal Weapon series - a favourite from my childhood - seemed to best describe my thoughts when I went out on Friday night. Experiencing the Shanghai nightlife, we went out to eat some Sichuan food with a group from work. With more chilies than a bowl of rice, there were even some murmurs from the locals that it was hot, while anyone who knows me understands that I can take to spicy food about as well as a dwarf competes in a tall man contest. Thankfully I was able to nibble my way through enough to line the stomach with some protection before a full night of alcohol, and we managed a very 'Australian' custom by drinking the restaurant out of cold beers.

A small group of us ventured on to a popular nightspot called M2, which drew some raised eyebrows from some of those we told. Needless to say, my name and cool places are not synonymous and I was having second thoughts on the t-shirt and jeans I decided to don. The main difference between asian and western countries in terms of clubs as far as I can gather (from around the 6 I've been to in my life), is that occupying space requires a certain amount of dough, which I found out this morning cost me to the tune of 2100 RMB ~ $320 AUD - heck that was just MY share! What this got you was a small table, a couple of bottles of whisky, a fruit platter, and a guy who transfers the whisky from the bottle to a jug. Obviously this business model tends to work better than Australia where patrons can nurse their $10 drinks for a couple of hours. With fashionistas, complete with a so-called hip-hop singer the pre-requisite 'tosser' sunglasses (gimmie a break - indoors at night??) complete with western dancers and it was quite an experience. I can't recall the last time I went to a night club, and I don't even know if I can call it that, but there was loud music, a bunch of people dancing, and a strange dice game being played where the loser downs some of the expensive nectar that costs me more than half my flight here! It was an enjoyable experience as it's not something I'd go out to do, while it was good to see what happens with young folks these days!

We went onto another club where my guess is that the other half of my plane fare is about to sting me as this was a slightly larger table, there were more drinks and the music was louder. Geez, I don't know how people do this week in and out. This was different again, with fancy dancers strutting their stuff at regular intervals, showing patrons how it's meant to be done. Rest assured I didn't dare attempt to dance and was quite happy to guard the expensive space we had secured.

Thankfully all these spots are a stones throw from my apartment and I was able to stumble home at 4am. I hadn't had that much to drink, however I did manage to press the wrong floor and try my card in someone else's door a few times - luckily I didn't start banging on the door. While the incorrect floor I did get off had the hallmarks of a patron who didn't make it to his/her room - spew all over the elevator exit which I somehow managed to avoid. Microwaving some frozen fries and having a shower, I was knocked out in no time.

Needless to say not much else happened on the weekend. I'm too old for this sh!t...

Oh, just to put a dampener on all this cool clubbing underground scene talk, my iPad is back up and running, resetting and deleting the whole thing seemed to work, and now it's just a matter of re-syncing 7gigs of data again!

***edit: Thankfully I've now been informed the amount for the club was a *total* amount rather than each! Much more palatable and easy on the wallet!****

Brief Beijing

2011-08-30T00:16:00.000+10:00

Last week, I got the opportunity to go to Beijing for work. Arriving Monday and leaving Wednesday night with a full schedule of work, unfortunately I didn't have a chance to explore the city, while the initial experience was quite a contrast to Shanghai. Flying out in the afternoon, the mystery of the missing sun was solved, with a spectacular view above the cloud line above Shanghai, providing evidence exactly why it feels like the city is baking in an oven bag!

The brief encounter with Beijing is certainly not enough to provide a comparison or legitimate feel for the city, but the road where Tiananmen Square resides is both expansive and provided a unique experience - Albeit from inside a taxi! Lanes of around 12-16 fill the street, while massive buildings line either side of the road with no allowable areas to park.

Random Rants

2011-08-18T23:20:00.000+10:00

I'm not a technology wiz, but I know enough to build my own PC and maintain most things related - usually by resetting the PC! So when basic technology just doesn't work, it's infuriating. The convenience of the iPad has been great, but in the last 2 weeks, it refuses to connect to the internet. Now this would have to be the most simple operations available and has effectively rendered the device useless. It's a double edged sword when it comes to Apple. Lock down the device and it remains relatively safe from exploitations that are common with PCs, the flip side is, you've got to make sure it works and if it doesn't, well, you need to fix it straight away.

So here are the issues/attempted fixes - Which firmly place the blame on Apple.
1) There is a wifi signal and correctly connects to the wireless modem. Going outside or a distance away changes the signal power.
2) Safari - the only allowed browser, complains that the internet is not connected, as does the iTunes and Apps stores.
3) Resetting the configuration on the iPad - albeit limited in options anyway - fails to resolve the problem
4) Resetting the modem does nothing - neither does leaving all devices and the modem off overnight
5) All other devices - Laptop, iPhone - connect fine to the wireless internet
6) Connecting to another wireless internet - thanks to the serviced apartment for keeping strict password formats across rooms! - connects to the modem, but the error still appears!
7) Turned off auto-brightness and dimmed the display - yes that was a fix I read on the internet

It's been interesting reading forums about this issue (11 pages in one site) where this has also been reported across both versions of the iPad. Obviously there are the Apple fan boys with the 'check your modem' trick or 'update your firmware - there's nothing wrong with the product, it has to be the modem!' - even if other devices can connect. I wouldn't be so frustrated if there was another option available (eg cable connection), but a wifi device with no input options - well, leaves me with the option of wifi or wifi, so it damn sure better work!

Here's hoping another 900mb operating system update comes and blasts away whatever bug is in the system...

Ok, its not a post about Shanghai, but here's another rant...

I'll admit I've been a huge fan of the Lonely Planet guides, but I'll ask the question: Have they become too popular?

Seeking food recommendations, I went through the online iPhone application - which I'll admit probably have the worst maps I've seen with unnamed or missing streets - to find some recommendations. Picking one at random, we made our way there by taxi and from the street represented exactly what you'd expect in a foodie street. Dark with old men playing cards, while small shop owners eagarly anticipate customers coming into their quaint small establishments.

Having had to climb a number of stairs and turn some dingy corners, we made it to the restaurant. Almost booked out, we were fortunate to get a table, and the view of the chefs made for what we thought to be a good night out. As the night progressed, we noticed a lack of locals or local looking people - apart from me - filling the restaurant, all presumably grabbing the same recommendation from the same guide. This wouldn't be bad if the food was mindblowing, but sadly, it was the worst food I'd had on the trip. Reflecting, I read a bit more about the restaurant, and it was recommended as one of the top three in the Lonely Planet guide!

The question is: Has the popularity of guides such as this destroyed the once quaint, brilliant places, into tourist magnets and in some cases lowered standards significantly to make a quick buck?

Oh, the only interesting thing from the night was we tried fried bees!

Random Shanghai Thoughts

2011-08-13T22:32:00.000+10:00

Some observations from walking out and about in town in Shanghai:

The fashion of 'collars up' is alive and well in Shanghai. It's something that I thought was reserved for 'tools', but it seems the norm here, complete with fashion logos displayed underneath the polo collar which would otherwise be hidden without it 'popped' up.
His and hers t-shirts which is obviously a display of deep affection between a couple are worn with pride - Something I don't think would take off in my hometown. Imagine a guy wearing a lime cuddly little bear t-shirt matching his girlfriend's. I suspect in Australia, that guy wouldn't last too long before the heckling provided some not-so-subtle fashion advice.
I finally experienced the enormous crush of the subway, where the train stopped shortly after cramming a few people in telling everyone to exit due to a fault. The peak hour train then proceeded to try and enter the next train which was already full to capacity. Needless to say, it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I had with enough male buttocks and underarms to last a lifetime. Thank goodness it was the IT district where skinny nerds were more prevalent than overweight corporate fatsos - Ok I'm exaggerating the stereotype here...
Thinking you're at home - On a busy train on the way home from work, a guy, standing in full view of everyone, had his hand half way up is nose, trying to excavate something or reach into his brain. Without a worry in the world, he carefully inspected what had come out, whilst going on to repeat the effort on the other nostril. This went on for at least 5 minutes, fascinating me in the meantime. Perhaps this does nothing to disprove the IT nerdy stereotype with no social skills?
The great divide - I'll expand on this in a later post, but the extremities between those that can and cannot afford things is without doubt something that a number of countries I've visited face. Seeing people work day in and out to make a living from a few yuan, or sleeping in 24 atms to get away from the heat, while another luxurious hotel or designer label pops up down the road.

Jon Doesn't Have Talent

2011-08-07T17:14:00.000+10:00

When asked the question, I answered with certainty, but the stomach churned as soon as the answer was given. The question? 'Do you want to join us for Karaoke?' Yes, I decided to partake in the popular pastime which seems to explain where the masses disappear to after hours. Without knowing what to expect, I was informed the next day that we'd been booked in for a 3 hour session with the option to extend if we wanted. 3 hours! I don't think I've listened to music non-stop for that long. Upon arriving at the venue, I was confronted with in excess of 300 rooms for youngsters to tickle their vocal chords. Ushers paced the corridors for blinking lights, to assist in providing drinks or answer questions for those inside. Upon leaving, I noticed that most of the rooms had blinking lights which explained the slow and forgetful service.

A labyrinth of corridors and numbered rooms operating 24 x 7

Within the room there was a large screen at one end, 2 microphones for those important duets, while a touchscreen enabled queuing and selection of songs. Options such as disco lighting, cheers from a buoyant audience or switching backing singing on/off were available on small consoles at the entrance and back of the room.

Select your song and follow the words!

The first choice of songs - really just an impulse from my teen years - 2pac - Changes, really brought home a) How poor my singing is and b) how difficult it is to sing a rap song. Needless to say I thought it was going to be long night...

With over 380 pages with 16 artists per page, there was no shortage of selection, with every mainstream pop artist that could be thought of including the last obscure Idol winner from Australia (I can't even remember the name now...). Without a specific song or artist that came immediately to mind, I proceeded to page through, to find a name that would inspire my voice to shatter some more windows or induce another dog to start howling. I settled on the following which I think were reasonable choices (that I can remember):
REM - Man on the Moon
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Jay Z feat Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
Placebo - Every You, Every Me
U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name

I pulled out of the last two as there were no backing vocals and frankly, I found it impossible not to laugh when listening to my own voice... Additionally another song will not be mentioned here so as to keep the little credibility I have in music taste. Alternative artists were of somewhat slim understandably due to popularity amongst the masses.

There was some impressive singing from the other participants, and the 3 hours flew by, and at just 70yuan (~$11AUD) each for 4 people including a pitcher of beer and tea, it's a cheap pastime. The initial song was daunting and I wasn't completely comfortable singing for the whole night, but it was enjoyable and an experience which I wouldn't normally try.

The Bund

2011-07-25T22:05:00.000+10:00

During the day, I've got to say uninspiring, but I hear 7am is when you see little old ladies coming out to practise taichi. But the real attraction of the Bund is when darkness ensues; the neon lights from across the river and passing boats light up the sky. It's a sight that could not be replicated anywhere else, and just over 10 years ago was made up of farms and rice fields. Major banks line the streets overlooking the promenade and river while thousands of people mill around taking in the views. Only a small drinks vendor and photograph station are permitted on the kilometres of platform, while police keep the peace, preventing people from standing on seats or skylarking of any kind.

Where's Wally?

Down in front!

Sitting on the steps, you can waste a day observing your surroundings. Guys lift their shirts exposing rotund bellies seeking some refuge from the humidity, while portable outdoor airconditioners add about as much benefit as dropping an iceblock into a volcano. A newly married couple take wedding photos whilst essentially playing chicken with maurading buses, as the photographer barks instructions. A model poses amongst a non-plussed crowd while a whipped man cleans up damp steps with a tissue for his harem of ladies to sit so as not to ruin some pristine white pants.

Speaking to some locals, its not a place visited frequently and is more for tourists - although there seemed to be an inordinate amount of black hair amongst the crowd. When getting to/from the area, it felt like 5 football matches had just completed with an endless stream of people walked in both directions, occupying a car lane on each side.

The only time pedestrians have right of way - but it doesn't stop the honking...

New Job Opportunities

2011-07-14T23:57:00.001+10:00

It's been an awakening of the senses living in Shanghai the past week and a bit. From the hit in the face of unbearable humidity at 830 in the morning, to the streams of people navigating the subway, at times it's difficult to switch off and just relax. One thing I've learnt is to throw away any thoughts of personal space, but getting in the swing of things almost resulted in me 'hip and shouldering' an old lady while exiting the train. Yes, there's no notion of: everyone out before everyone in when trains are involved.

Currently I've managed to spend a measly 45 yuan on train fares for about an hour's journey each day - roughly $7AUD - which is the equivalent of a day's travel back home. Yes, I understand the differentials of the costs of living and wages, but somewhere along the lines Melbourne missed the memo about spending on basic infrastructure. I'd be happy to be paying more if I'd seen improvement... enough of a rant. One curious procedure remaining since Expo 2010 is the placement of xray machines at every station prior to swiping your card (which, by the way works a charm). I've seen many monitor operators dozing off, while a polite attendant gives the 'here is your seat madam/sir' gesture to those with large bags. On the first day being naive and stupid, I popped my bag through the machine, as the operator with 'homer simpson' glasses (eyeballs painted on the outside while he/she sleeps) gave no more than a cursory glance at the screen. More often than not, unless the attendant stands in your way, you can ignore them, or alternatively follow closely behind a larger man to obscure their view. The train system is easy to navigate, with the common design of colours and numbers (which I've seen in almost all the Asian countries I've travelled to) to let you know where to go. Seats are at a premium, and if a few are on offer, there's a race for it, (no kidding!) not unlike Kramer in an early episode of Seinfeld.

Looking at this photo now, I think the security lady is looking directly at me. I'm surprised I wasn't taken down! While the guy on the left politely says: 'You shall not pass!' - ok maybe not that, but his left hand gestures you to put you bag through the machine

One has to keep their wits about them on the streets, as the traffic lights are more 'traffic light suggestions' and more than once I've almost had my ugly mug plastered across the front of a bus. Fortunately my apartment is close to a supermarket, and the thought of being an importer/exporter has crossed my mind. Heck, I think it's cheaper for me to bathe in Asahi at just over $1AUD for 640ml.

Just to prove I wasn't bluffing
What's a price comparison without the obligitory banana? (Note: ~6.5:$1AUD)

Anyway, I'm off to bed, like this guy on Taikang Rd. Ahh nothing like a Sunday afternoon nap while the world passes you by.

The Idiot Has Landed

2011-07-08T23:22:00.001+10:00

It's one of those 'fate' moments which just happens, but makes you think about the world we live in. A number of chance events and something that couldn't be replicated again in a thousand tries occurred on the way to Shanghai from Melbourne.

I was informed about a 4 hour delay - well, these things happen, I'll request an aisle seat I thought (no online check-in), ok, strike 2 out of 2 for that airline as I got a nice surprise as I stepped on the plane I had the dreaded window seat. I digress. The 'fate' moment occurred as I polished off a couple of fast food items courtesy of a $14 voucher from the airline. I had a full four hours to kill, but at that moment, mixed in with wandering the airport, I decided to proceed through customs. As I approached the gate, I noticed a work colleague who was travelling to NZ. What are the chances??? In anycase, it was a good way to kill a couple more hours and an excuse to down a few morning lagers. Thanks for the last Australian Asahi beers Panel!

On to the plane, a 'professor type' passenger managed to snag what I thought should have been my aisle seat. Commandeering the armrest and then some for the whole flight didn't improve my opinion of the man and coupled with constant sniffing, (I counted once every 20 seconds) I was on the brink of calling him a Tibetan supporter who hates Mao. Needless to say I chuckled as the second meal was reduced to 'Fish only' and he argued with the air hostesses to look for a chicken meal, only to be told none existed. Harsh, but it wasn't for an allergy as he reluctantly nibbled on the provided meal - didn't this guy realise a few years ago this was a communist country?

Having had many warnings about taxis, coupled with my apparent lack of 'street smarts' (which I'll argue!) I was wary about the airport in Shanghai. Going through customs, the criteria for x-raying baggage was whomever was stupid enough to make eye contact with them, (I'll revise that street smart argument) while locals bustled past with their porn magazines strapped to their chests. I thought to myself all the pointers, ignore those people who ask if you need a taxi and go straight to the rank, just the rank I repeated to myself. Well, thanks to the 4 hour delay, at midnight all the shifty brothers were asleep, and the taxi rank consisted of 1 person - the man who walkie talkie'd to the awaiting cabs! The next tough job was explaining my destination, however this turned out to be easily interpreted by the taxi rank man to the taxi driver and we were off!

Going 130km/hr through overpasses and freeways certainly awakened the senses, as did seeing skid marks going from one side of the freeway to the other, that led to a crashed lamborghini with deployed airbags, as the driver sheepishly walked towards the awaiting tow truck. Thankfully the apartment was still open as an earlier phone call from Melbourne was greeted with a plethora of 'yes' answers to all my questions which planted a few doubts.

I plonked my bags in the room around 1am, turned on the computer, sending an email to let people know I was coming in to work later that day...

Korea - Part 1

2010-10-18T00:08:00.000+11:00

Not having travelled extensively over my life, I've found the past 3 overseas trips have given me a different perspective on life, and an appreciation of the world we live in. Additionally it's been an eye opener to the pathetic amount I know about world history.

I've just returned from a 2 week holiday in Seoul and I thought it best to revive this blog to share some random thoughts on my trip. Unfortunately due to laziness, I haven't shared any experiences of Kyoto and Osaka which will hopefully be written before they become a faded memory.

Strangely and completely out of character, whilst waiting for my departure, I wrote some random observations about my impending trip. In hindsight I'm happy I wrote something down, and the following covers the experience just before boarding to the point of arriving at Incheon airport:

As I walk through customs with the unsavory vision of being felt up by airport staff due to meeting the criteria of a potential drug suspect; Single male, shaved head, dodgy looking and solo traveller, I once again begin to realise the enormity of the next 13 days. I've decided to embark to a country of which I have no idea of, without a plan, but willing to do a fair amount of exploration. Yes, Burke and Wills may have been trailblazers of their time, trekking into the unknown outback of Australia, but with towering skyscrapers, a foreign language and a propensity to getting lost, it feels just as daunting, although I hope my journey ends on a better note. One thing is for sure, 5th grade classrooms won't be discussing the misadventures of this stupid traveller.

Travel is unfortunately too easy for a novice such as myself. With the invention of the internet, no longer is there the need for a travel agent to plan tours, places to see or stay. Departing the country with a detailed itinerary of connections and plans is no longer necessary as confirmations are now merely a click away. Anyone with a basic grasp of a web browser and able to locate the cvv number on a credit card are able to book an unplanned adventure. This is somewhat risky for the likes of myself who have 'f*ck it' moments and find themselves booked on flights that ultimately result in some shocking planning.

I'm envious of the travellers that plan trips in meticulous detail; 2 days here, 4 days there all the while booking hotels and activities along the way. Apart from the pain of lugging bags from place to place, finding where to go and getting lost would ultimately increase my travel time by 2 fold. Which brings me back to where I am now. Sitting in the departures lounge wondering what the next 13 days have in store.

South Korea is the final destination, and, apart from a visit to the DMZ (which isn't booked) there aren't any plans of places to see or things to do. Ironically despite learning Japanese for the last 10 months after visiting the country, I'm venturing to another where I don't know the language. Yes, I have been asked if I'll be learning Korean upon my return!

Choosing seats is a minor, yet important choice when embarking on that long journey. The man in the green polo with collar up and sunglasses on his head isn't an inviting prospect given it's 23:50, freezing in planes and, well lets face it, collars up are a general statement that the wearer values 'LV' on his shirt more so than if it fits. Avoiding the middle seat is an obvious choice, however isle vs window is a slightly more difficult one. A destination with sweeping city views or cascading mountain ranges is worth the inconveniencing of fellow passengers, while the freedom to move to/from the lavatory is something that many people value most. However, if in-flight entertainment is non-existent, prepare for an endless gaze into the back of the seat, as any attempts to sleep will surely be disrupted by the passenger with the loose bladder.

I must thank Michaela and Jessica for chirping away for the majority of the flight. I've now found another group to avoid sitting near: Groups of high school excursion students. Loud talking during an overnight flight is inexcusable, particularly when those you're speaking to are sitting in different rows. Inane banter involving 'like whatever' and 'shuddup' pepper the air, drowning out the engine. Thankfully I'm able to take away the fact that I'm not actually travelling with these lunatics and quietly spare a thought for the teachers on board (briefly...)

I've never quite understood the ritual of rushing out of the plane as soon as the seatbelt sign disappears, particularly when there's luggage to collect. Invariably passengers wait at the turnstiles, with their trolleys pressed firmly edge of the conveyor belt preventing other passengers from accessing their bags. (Why do people do this???). Ironically these tend to be the same people who stand on the moving walkways - little wonder why DVT occurs.

Looking back on what was written, it's more a endless stream of words loosely resembling some thoughts, so hopefully the next post will contain some experiences from Korea!

Tokyo Travels - Part 3

2010-02-22T00:20:00.002+11:00

Odaiba
This man-made island (I have no idea how it would be created!) can be accessed via a driverless train which is an experience in itself. Spending 1 day on this island, there isn't a great deal to see in terms of people, but there are a number of museums to visit and interesting buildings to see, so I had no trouble filling the whole day.

View from the driverless train

Toyota Showcase/Ferris Wheel
There are driverless cars that can take you on a tour of the Toyota showcase, however these were running but not open to the public on this particular day. Various activities such as a driver simulator and F1 reaction check would provide some entertainment for the kids, while being a pretty blatant ad for the car manufacturer. I tried the F1 reaction simulator which I failed miserably at, while at the computerized, hazardous weather driving simulator, the application of other games really didn't help me as I rammed into oncoming traffic. The ferris wheel provides a great view of the island, although the island is sparse of notable sights.

Tokyo Big Sight
An upside-down triangular structure houses Tokyo's exhibition halls used for conferences and large corporate gatherings. Other than a moderate view from the higher levels of the building there is merely open space within it. It wouldn't be out of place as a stronghold for an evil mastermind, but is something unique that wouldn't have a chance of being constructed at home.

Imagine trying to clean the corners inside!

Muscle Park
I regret spending so much time at this theme park which takes a floor of a department complex, however some of the attractions were fun to try and watch, and I have a new respect for baseball pitchers (Although it won't encourage me to watch the sport). Activities included soccer, baseball challenges, numeric and reaction activities. The main attraction consisted of multiple strength based challenges, not unlike something off a game show, complete with enthusiastic commentary from staff.

Museum of Martime Science
Showing models of ships throughout history, there are some excellent displays. Interactive, they explained some of the more simple points for land lubbers and the English audio guide was a must due to the signage being in Japanese. During the audio tour, it mentioned that some of the exhibits were first created before the actual museum exterior due to their size. The museum exterior is in the shape of a ship, complete with an upper deck and an small pool to drive remote controlled boats.

The Maritime Museum... A ship built around the museum

Massive model ships. Japan has great models in their museums

View from the top deck of the museum

National Museum of Emerging Technologies

Unfortunately due to the time spent at Muscle Park and the Maritime museum, I wasn't able to explore this museum thoroughly. Although a with space capsule, deep sea diving ship replicas alongside robotic and proton exhibits, an entire day could be spent here. Staff are more than willing to explain and field questions which were required due to the year 10 level of science of this visitor.

Odaiba Food
With quite an appetite after a full day of walking, a dinner overlooking the Rainbow Bridge capped off a great day. I've blogged about this already here, while brunch is detailed here.

A landmark out of place?

To be continued...

Tokyo Travels - Part 2

2010-01-23T12:57:00.000+11:00

The City
I didn't see Tokyo as having a single CBD, but rather multiple CBDs consisting of multiple wards all with their own nuances and towering skyscrapers. I decided against going on any tours, but relied entirely on the Lonely Planet guide. The benefit of this I thought would be that could explore the city at my own pace, while walking around I was able to stumble across museums or galleries tucked away in backstreets and out of the way areas. The beauty of the transportation system is that once you're familiar with it, you're less apprehensive about getting lost in the city. For example, take a wrong turn down the street, eventually you'll come across another subway station where you'll be able to travel back to familiar areas. The first ward I'll blog is Shibuya.

A quiet time on the street
Ground level

Shibuya
Apparently the main train station averages 2.4 million people through their turnstiles on a weekday and on more than one occasion I'd popped out of an exit only to find I'd have to walk 15 minutes to navigate the streets back to my desired area (believe me, although the street is busy, getting out of the subway is a good idea). Most people head towards exit to Shibuya crossing, which was featured in Lost in Translation and epitomizes the neon and pedestrian onslaught that hits many parts of Tokyo. At times overwhelming, but spectacular to experience.

I counted 8 different crossings where waves of pedestrians make their way across the street. On one particular day, rain provided a spectacular scene with umbrellas filling the intersection as sides converged on each other not unlike a scene from Braveheart. Navigating through the throng of people is a skill the vast population has mastered, despite having unbearable high heels, large shopping bags or being engrossed in the latest mobile phone game or text.

Ready?
Here's why transparent umbrellas are great!

The bright lights engulf the senses as soon as you emerge from the subway, and I was quite happy on a number of nights to walk through the maze of streets taking in the sights and sounds of the vibrant night. The most popular spot to meet is outside the main subway entrance where a statue of Hanchiko stands - a dog who's owner died but continued to visit for 10 years in the 1920's. (Remind you of a Futurama episode?)

Tepco Electric Energy Museum
Tepco is an electric company in Japan, so some exhibits and videos are a little bias towards the services they provide, however a 1/3 replica of a nuclear reactor was a highlight as were some of the other hands on experiments. A futurist kitchen and various sources of electricity are also displayed and there is an English handout on each floor. As it was with most of Tokyo, the staff are friendly and courteous and even went to the extent of a mini tour, complete with a competitive mind game which two people pressed their heads against a sensor which controlled the movement of a ball (apparently depending on how relaxed you were). Despite being on holidays I still lost the challenge. There weren't too many other museums or cultural places to see in Shibuya, but there are plenty of other destinations that will fill this need.

Other sights included the Tobacco & Salt Museum (strange combination!), Love Hotels, Tokyu Hands (A one-stop shop for anything, including a plastic shaped banana case. But they're all different shapes and sizes I cried to myself!) and countless other retail stores and restaurants.

Love Hotel...

A good spot to end the day for some food, drinks or some shopping, Shibuya fit the pre-trip view I had of Tokyo...

To be continued...

Tokyo Travels - Part 1

2010-01-10T20:33:00.000+11:00

I think its natural to feel a little depressed after a holiday. Particularly if you're overseas, the last thing that you want to do is come back to the day-to-day grind of work. For 2 weeks I experienced the bright neon lights, fantastic food and people of Tokyo, and at Gold Coast airport, the reality hit home that my holiday was over. This trip was hastily planned, as the time off was planned well before any travel. The choice of Tokyo was a difficult one, with the option of the US considered also with a strong Australian dollar and cheap fares. Despite being in Tokyo for the duration, there was more than enough to see and do for the the trip. (Update: Tokyo was Oct/Nov and I have since been to Kyoto and Osaka Dec/Jan which I will eventually blog also)

Arrival
The trip from the airport to my hotel provided the first challenge for me. Not knowing the language and travelling solo for the first time, my heart pounded through my chest as I made my way down through the airport. Despite reading extensively in the week leading up to the trip and having my trusty Lonely Planet guide as my companion, the enormity of situation finally dawned upon me as I stepped out of the plane.

Through customs, the officer smiled, making a shaving gesture over his head as my passport photo only remotely resembled my current appearance sans hair. Strangely devoid of people, I made my way to the train station which is conveniently located beneath the airport. Like much of Tokyo, there are people willing to give you a hand, and through some well spoken English, an attendant directed me to the correct ticket to purchase for the journey to my hotel. In the initial planning, I had hoped to take the lazy way out of catching a taxi to my destination, however after finding out that costs would be in the range of $350AUD I decided to take my chances with the train. Despite it's reputation of being complicated, after a few days I couldn't live without the reliability of the subway and I was soon confident using it to traverse through the city. English signage at stations and trains is excellent, and, even without this, a grasp of the alphabet and numbers will be enough to guide you through the initially daunting subway.

A 40 minute travel into Central Tokyo station into a sprawl of people and an electric atmosphere and I knew (even in the train station): "I'd arrived in Tokyo". Again, following signs through the station, I was directed to the taxi rank, and my first real experience of the city (I hadn't previously set foot outside until that point). Tokyo taxis are immaculate, with shiny, polished exteriors, mini tvs and well presented drivers. (I'm not sure where else you'd see the drivers donning full suits). Magically, there's no need to open or close doors, as they spring open as you approach. Obviously controlled by the driver, it's a neat little add-on to the taxi experience, but perhaps explains the price of the average ride.
Having printed out a number of maps guiding me to my hotel in the event of getting lost, unfortunately I couldn't convey the exact location of the hotel and the taxi driver drove me close directing me as best he could down a street to where I expected to find my hotel. At 10pm at night and in a quiet business district, I wandered around for about an hour and a half walking aimlessly, knowing I was in the proximity of my destination, but clueless to the direction to go. After purchasing toothpaste (after it was confiscated by Australian customs for being over 100g) the friendly attendant directed me down the street to the location of my hotel. Walking up and down the street I still couldn't locate my hotel, so flagging the help of a passer-by I was helped to find the exact location (which happened to be just a block away).
Later in the journey I realised my mistake, whereby maps on the street are a literal picture where north is anywhere on the map rather than upwards.

Transport
Taxis are abundant throughout the city, however with the price starting at around $8 without leaving the curb it's an option not often taken. For the 2 weeks, I entered a taxi twice, with the second time being after a long night of drinking. Trains will cease operation at a certain time (around midnight), and will stop at the closest station rather then at the end of the line. On the second occasion I made the bold decision to walk home well after the train service had ceased, but unfortunately veering off slightly and getting lost (perhaps from a drunk walk), I had to resort to a taxi. The driver, perhaps sensing that I'd had a few to drink, offered me a mint to finish the night. It's not something I'd experienced in Australia, and after speaking to some locals, it's not often something that happens in Tokyo either!

The train network is daunting, and looking at the railway picture above, it can be hard to decipher to say the least. The train lines are owned by different companies, but are integrated well. I recommend purchasing one of the pre-paid cards which allow you have a large balance which is automatically deducted at the point of exit. There are "Fare Adjustment" terminals which allow you to start your trip, paying the balance at the destination prior to the gate. A great example of this was my final trip to the airport, where I only had 300 yen left on my card. I wasn't prevented from boarding the train to start my journey, however I was able to add the balance at the airport and finish off the card so I didn't have any residue yen on the card.

On my first entry into a train during a workday I noticed that the entire carriage was made up of women. Not bad for a single man travelling, but, realising that I was in one of the "women only" carriages I quickly stepped out prior to the train departing. Until 9.30am, some trains adopt women only first and last carriages due to the increase in assaults. Having experienced a packed train, (Meaning you cannot turn in any direction in the train) I can understand the benefit for women having carriages devoted to them. All the passengers are quiet, and like a well trained army, inch around to allow another few passengers on board. There are no complaints or yelling, everyone knows this happens and cannot be prevented.
Having had experiences at 9am and 10pm where I'd narrowly missed trains, I soon realised that timetables were not required. Trains arrive every 4 minutes during peak hours and throughout the day, which makes it a convenient, efficient way to travel.

By far the best way to experience the city was on foot. A plethora of sights await the patient traveller, whether it's a hidden temple, museum, or as simple as seeing people go about their daily lives, a wealth of priceless moments can be missed by sticking to the train and main tourist sights.
To be continued...

Where am I?

2010-01-10T01:48:00.002+11:00

This poor old blog has been neglected badly like that plant you're meant to look after when a neighbour goes on holidays. I'll be posting some stuff from my 2 recent trips to Japan soon and anyone who's out there (unlikely) who's reading this may get some material to put them to sleep!

Just Another Album

2008-12-26T22:15:00.004+11:00

Wandering the isles of your local music store it's hard to fathom the amount of work involved to create the CDs and the time spent mulling over chords or recordings by the respective artists. It's fascinating to know how ideas for songs come about, or the particular riff that's used. I stumbled across a special on Triple J which covers 4 Australian albums, interviewing the bands, providing a really interesting look into how they were made.

Even if you're not a fan or familiar with the work of the artists, the process, issues and general thoughts in retrospect are intriguing. The interview with the 'Gurg is particularly good -hearing where their second album "Unit" was recorded, the origin of "Black Bugs" and the humour of winning an Aria for best artwork for a yellow dot- and certainly adds to the appreciation for the record.

The 4 half hour Mp3s cover the albums: Regurgitator - Unit, Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos, Sarah Blasko - The Overture and the Underscore and The Living End - The Living End. You can right click and download them for later listening.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/ausmusicmonth_08/docos/

Next time I pick up an album I'll appreciate the months of effort, sweat and tears that went into making every drum beat and lyric to sound as the artist/producer wants.

Is That a Cannon?

2008-08-04T21:05:00.000+10:00

The time between posts has been some months and hopefully I'll start regularly again...

It's been quite some time since I've had to travel regularly, but recently the location of work has enabled me to utilise the network. Oddly enough I still recognise people who caught the same train 3-4 years ago, and it requires a quick double take to connect the face to just a fellow train traveller than to a person I actually know. Fortunately while there's been an increase in passengers, seating is still available by the time the train pulls up at the station. While I do not encourage spying on other passengers, the short time I conducted this I generally found most people can be categorised in some distinct groups:

The guy with an apparent 'cannon' between his legs and therefore proceeds to spread his legs as far apart as possible, encroaching on valuable adjacent space.
With neither music nor book, the nosy parker who reads whatever their fellow passenger takes on board. (The information for this blog was discretely observed)
The princess who decides their designer bag requires a seat all to themselves. (I have no issues with this in an empty train, however in the morning it's just annoying when you're trying to maneuverer to a vacant seat or have to stand)
The loud talker or apparent deaf passenger who has their ipod full blast pumping out whomever is at number one on the dance charts. Sadly I was once this person in highschool with my tape walkman in the 90's with my band of choice, but thankfully the volume has now been toned down. How much harder was it to listen to your favourite songs in those days? Tape or CD -> tape or radio -> tape with the annoying announcer cutting in before the song completed.
The just plain rude idiot who I encountered who ticked off points 1-3 as well as sneezing all over the place. (The worst feeling was actually being able to smell the sneeze afterwards.... thanks...)

The way in which seats are filled can dramatically effect later travel and passenger comfort. The diagram below may help to explain some of my strange thoughts, where I've tried to number the seats in each section to maximise comfort and ease of access.

Pink - Probably the premium seats (If there are no elderly or disabled passengers that require them). Parallel to the door, you have a nice separate space to yourself.
Grey - Away from the main thoroughfare people will generally head to the main section of the carriage rather than the end. (Also on a less than jam packed carriage will allow a bit of room to stretch out your legs)
Blue/Yellow - Starting to get a little uncomfortable with a higher chance of stray elbows and bags.
Green/Orange - Tough to get out in a packed carriage and seats 2 and 5 will remind you being in the back seat of the family car as your siblings encroach on your space and give you matching bruises on both arms. (Not too different in the train either)

Oh well, at least I can now go back to reading my novel now.

Let's Never Argue Again

2008-04-26T16:00:00.000+10:00

It's true you never really appreciate something until it's gone. I saw my car more as a tool to get me from A to B, not recognising how much I took it for granted. On a buzz from a 2 and half hour epic Wilco gig at the refurbished Metro the previous night, I'd pulled into the office entrance being confronted by a garbage truck. I'd stopped about 5 metres behind and had another car follow me into the entrance. It began reversing at which point the car behind me pulled out and turned right into another carpark. By the time I checked my mirrors and commenced to reverse back, the truck pummeled into my bonnet. I didn't get a chance to sound my horn... A crude "paint" drawing illustrates scenario. It loses some of the impact in a drawing, however I can re-create the impact with some matchbox cars and lego buildings. The end result was not pretty.

How am I meant to know what car I drive when the badge is lost?

Driving the car off to the repairer, steam began to waft from the bonnet, fortunately I was spared the indignity of breaking down on a major road and made it in one piece. Not all repairers offer a replacement vehicle, and rather than attempt to claim a hire car through insurance (which I could envision to be a pain), I managed to find a place that offered a car free of charge. Reviewing the options of public transport to work, I approximated at least an hour which required traversing towards the city before being able to head back out by train and bus, so there really wasn't an option. My temporary wheels, a '90 Nissian Pintara, was interesting to say the least. I'm certainly wiser after experiencing the intricacies of the older vehicle:

1 key to open door, another to start the engine
A button that releases the key from the ignition. (Found after 5 minutes of yanking at the key)
An indicator that doesn't click back off after a turn
A broken side mirror adjuster, which then required prodding and pushing outside the vehicle
An inoperable radio and tape player (What are they again?)
Windscreen wipers that moved the water around the windscreen as opposed to off it.

Closing in on the first week of driving, down in the work carpark I decided to find out how to open the fuel cap which had eluded me in a brief search. Searching the vehicle high and low, a good 15 minutes was spent looking for leavers and buttons that may perform this operation. A colleague even assisted and we were none the wiser. The only leaver we found popped the boot, which we then couldn't re-close! Inspecting the latch, it appeared that the spring was loose and was no longer catching and suddenly this outweighed the issue of having limited fuel in the tank. With a vehicle devoid of any tools or rope and drawing upon MacGyver episodes of my youth, I peered down at my shoelaces and crudely tied down the boot to enable me to travel home, however, the mystery of the fuel latch remained.

Getting home and with a full set of tools at my disposal, the latch was beyond my limited skills. A reel of duct tape made an appearance and managed to secure the boot along with some actual string. Finally the puzzle of the fuel cap was also solved, where pulling the only leaver up resulted in popping the boot, pushing it down released the fuel cap!

Duct tape is surprisingly strong and durable

Fortunately insurance covers all the damage, which totaled in excess of $5000. There wasn't any engine damage, however the 2 weeks without my car helped me grow as a man. Or so I tell myself. My car is now back and I appreciate it more than ever.

Review - New Buffalo @ The Toff 20/03

2008-04-26T15:58:00.000+10:00

The Toff is tucked away above Cookie on Swanston st in the city and it's amazing the space that's available above the busy shops below. When the trek up the stairs surrounding the elevator shaft is complete, you're presented with a heavy door to your right where the bands play. Greeted by a friendly staff member, there are no funny stamps once your ticket is surrendered, but a rather nice little touch being the symbol of the venue. It's a little disappointing there aren't more photos on their site, as it's a pretty classy place.

Once the heavy door is opened and you take in your surroundings, a quaint little room is revealed. Tonight was predominately seated, although other times it's been accompanied with tables or standing room only. Directly opposite the band room at the entrance is the main bar where you can order food from the unique little train booths which we didn't get a chance to experience but are detailed in this review.

Interestingly enough, the support act didn't mention their name, however they mentioned their new lead singer so we figured they were in a transition phase. Despite a shaky first song without the main vocalist, the rest of the set was excellent.

New Buffalo is one of those artists that's perfect for a sleepy Sunday arvo and this didn't bode well for me given it was the end of a busy week and I'd run earlier in the day. Luckily I'd loaded up on caffeine early and thoroughly enjoyed the night. The intimate venue was perfect for the artist and all the songs from the latest offering: "Somewhere, Anywhere" were played. Accompanied by cello, piano, drums with a recorder and trumpet making brief appearances, rich sounds mirrored the album's sound. The set was short and sharp and included a song without any accompanying instruments. Certainly something not heard regularly, and you could hear a pin drop for the duration.

Who Needs a Nappy?

2008-03-12T00:28:00.000+11:00

The topic of toilet etiquette was brought up recently when obviously there was nothing else to discuss. For me, I don't feel it's a place where any speaking should take place. Should talking be kept to a minimum? Please note that I can only speak for the gents, however when you're in the close vicinity of another man's bits, I just want to complete the task required, wash and dry my hands and get out. I see most people outside of the gents, so I don't feel it's necessary to discuss weekend plans or the status of my project! Of course in the office I get light hearted grief for snubbing people, but I think most understand the haste given the state of the washroom.

The following has happened recently:

Someone had begun his business at a urinal when the phone rang. He proceeded to answer, continue a conversation and walk out without washing up.
A fellow employee mistakingly thought it was a flight to the US, bringing in a thick novel to accompany him. Seriously. Take some fiber capsules.
Countless number of people making the clickity clack sound of text messages.
People reaching high scores playing games on their mobiles.
Leaving piss and shit! on the seat.... Come on who hasn't been potty trained?
We have water restrictions, but please flush...

Meanwhile, it's cleaned twice daily... (honestly I believe primary school kids would be cleaner...)

The worst sound is being the only person in the toilet, hearing someone enter, flush and exit. I'm not a hygiene freak, however a splash of water over the hands wouldn't go astray. We thought of having a "name and shame" list just for the fun of it...

On a lighter note, I found the site http://www.newfoundfrequency.com/ which has full songs from live gigs to preview and CD compilations to purchase -with the artists' consent. I've purchased one live CD of Something For Kate @ the Corner, which was signed by the band. While it doesn't beat seeing them live, it helps fill the void should the cash be unavailable or the calendar booked.

What's in the Bag?

2008-02-26T00:30:00.001+11:00

There's always some excitement receiving a package, despite the purchase and online tracking through the carrier's website. I'm not sure what 20 somethings did 10-15 years ago when they had a spare few dollars and felt a need to do a little retail therapy at 10.30 on a Sunday night. There's an endless supply of niche sites out there peddling their wares ready to accept many forms of payment to satisfy any slight weakness.

On a recent trip overseas I was surprised to find 'regular' sized neck business shirts without the 'monkey armed' sleeves to accompany them. Unfortunately it looks like their online shop has closed so I'll have to make do with the supply I have and convey the apparent tough guy image by rolling up the sleeves on the others I own.

Another shopfront caught my eye, individually placing t-shirts in clear plastic hangers with witty references. That's all well and good for those who appreciate irony and cleaver wording like this. However it would look strange should I walk down the street with a mate with the same shirt. Having this in mind, and with a slight binge on some favourite tv shows, I opted for more mainstream pop culture references for my purchases, sitting comfortably in my PJs.

For most people over 40 these probably won't make an iota of sense so I'll try and explain where they came from. The only defense I have is that I did have to do some work that morning from 2am-4am (Sunday) so I was a little delusional at 10:30 at night.

I choo choo choose you
A Simpsons reference to that lovable character Ralph Wiggum and the Valentine's day card craftily written. Before they sold out and wrote episodes around guest voices and characters.

We built this city
Maybe that mid life crisis is coming 10 years too early. Ah those early years of Lego

Never forget
Who doesn't like dinosaurs?

Bears are dangerous
If you need to read a sign like that I think you have bigger problems.

Lloyd!!
This was unnecessary, but a reference to Entourage and a much maligned assistant with classic one liners.

Suits Suck
Straight out of Entourage where a film director makes a not so subtle comment on 'suits' or non-creative people such as agents and managers.

Happy Festivus
Celebrate a made-up holiday around the aluminum pole with the gang from Seinfeld.

Anyway shortly after my purchase I noticed this, which I feel compelled to get due to being such a fan of Seinfeld. Don't succumb to weakness, but enjoy looking at the sites below for some different t-shirt designs. Any other suggestions of sites are most welcome. (My credit card is ready and waiting)

http://www.bustedtees.com/
http://www.option-g.com/
http://www.threadless.com/

Flashing Hula Hoops and Mountains of Flaming Trash

2008-01-22T22:54:00.000+11:00

With all the honing, producing and digital splicing of songs these days, it's difficult to know just how good an artist is until you've seen them in the flesh. Having said that, regardless of how good an album is produced, nothing compares to the 'feel' of a performance even if it doesn't get nailed flawlessly. I'll spare those reading this too much pain by going through yet another Sarah Blasko gig I attended at the Stones of the Yarra Valley. Stripped back with just a mini grand piano, guitar and occasional synthesizer it was brilliant, while I managed to get a blurry photo of her with me and was able to ask her a semi intelligent question without blathering like a crazy lunatic.

Last week I visited one of my favourite venues - The Forum - to see Sufjan Stevens. With a capacity of 1500, it was one of the most polite crowds I'd seen, with no loud talkers or clunking of bottles from the bar and you'd literally be able to hear a pin drop during quiet moments within some songs. Part of the band, who looked fresh out of school, consisted of trumpet, saxophone, French horn and clarinet, accompanied by the more common arrangement of guitars, piano and drums. The big band sound was certainly a highlight of the live show - particularly the solos -, while his performance on banjo would've dispelled any unfair stereotypes of the instrument.

Talkative throughout, stories of his childhood, big American cars and family provided contextual lead-ins to songs, however by his own admission, at times these veered slightly beyond the songs' subject matter. By far the most entertaining story involved the insistence of his father to the avoid paying $16 a month for garbage collection. Burying it underground around their trailer in acres of land, it was eventually piled up and burnt.

Rather than commanding the stage with a voice akin to a tenor it's carefully delivered lyrics and tight musical arrangements that made the performance special. At one stage the decrescendo plucking of the banjo and matching singing had most of the audience leaning forward, intently listen to each note before nervously waiting until the song completed wholly before applauding.

With more words in some song titles than lyrics in entire songs, it makes it difficult to recall the setlist, however by far the standout from the night was Casimir Pulaski Day. It's a difficult song to listen to given the lyrics, however the delivery was spot on. Other highlights (from a fading memory) included The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!, Come On! Feel The Illinoise!... and John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

Synchronized wardrobe changes included the famous angel wings and as we wondered if there was some direct relationship between the size of the wings and your status in the band, the show ended with a dedicated hula hooper. Not to be outdone, Sufjan upped the ante with a fancy flashing light hula hoop, completing tricks that made you shake your head in disgust. It's not enough that his a talented musician, but he can hula hoop too! Well at least I can do a fancy spin of a pen around my thumb, but I doubt I can join his tour doing that...

Summer of...

2008-01-08T22:29:00.000+11:00

While all the drama off the cricket pitch has detracted from an exciting game 2, a bigger issue is at stake if India does pull out of their tour - What the heck to do to fill the void that is summer tv. Not that I'd be glued to the box throughout the season, but the cricket does help to fill those hot summer nights or when you couldn't be arsed getting off the couch. There's only so much criminal drama one can take, and with the promos of David Caruso hands on hips, furrowed brow ready to deliver a packet of wisdom to a would-be crook one thanks for the invention of dvds and the Internet.

For the first time I can remember, I'm taking some interest in American politics. It's been fascinating drawing parallels to the West Wing, and hasn't taken long for candidates from both parties to begin digging and throwing the dirt on their own. Lucky they've all just managed to scrape together the multi millions to keep their campaigns going. I'm sure none of the contributors are expecting favours if they get in too...

One nugget that took me from left field was the new feature length Futurama straight-to-dvd episode. Mysteriously, I managed to get my hands on a copy and was happy that it kept to the formula of old, and didn't seem to lose a step after all these years. What's more encouraging is that a once discarded show managed to get resurrected. (I think at least for a few more feature length dvds) Without spoiling the story, the first few minutes allowed the writers to get a few gripes off their chests in a typical Groening/Simpsons dig at higher powers.

While it may seem a little unsociable, what else can you do on back to back 40+ degree days?

Wrap it up Already...

2008-01-02T23:41:00.000+11:00

Wow... a year has flown by and I'm finally getting around to writing on this blog again. It hasn't been an exciting few months, however it's been busy with Christmas and a couple of other things to make the time fly by.

To wrap the year up:

Top 3 gigs of the year
1) Sarah Blasko - Ruby's Lounge 21/07
In a word: Beautiful

2) Regurgitator - Corner Hotel 12/10
Tough to choose between the 2 times I saw them this year, but hearing the new album live puts this one up there slightly.

3) Wilco - Palais 19/04
Nels and his guitars... Be interesting to see how the follow-up in a few months compares.

Surprise of performance
Liam Finn supporting Sarah Blasko @ The Forum 27/10 and follow-up @ NSC 22/11
Imagine Christmas with the Finns. Damn talented family and Liam is a fantastic artist solo. Pity about the turnout at the NSC gig (~50), although I wasn't complaining about the extra elbow room.

Disappointment
Yo La Tengo - Corner Hotel 06/03
After 5 minutes of continuous guitar feedback, fingernails down a blackboard would've been a godsend.

Embarrassing Moment of the Year (not involving me)
Beating my mate Jimbo 4-6 6-0 6-0 in tennis and forcing 2 separate laps around the tennis net with his pants around his ankles. Priceless. Hey I don't make these rules, but I am going to enforce 'em!

New Years Resolution
Try and move on from this Sarah Blasko obsession

In other news, if you haven't checked out Entourage do so. Supposedly based on Mark Wahlberg's life, it's one of the funniest shows I've seen. Cleverly written with likable characters it opens your eyes to the celebrity lifestyle.

I hope anyone who reads this had a great, safe Christmas and New Years!

It Sure is Breezy in Here

2007-11-13T21:18:00.000+11:00

If you're going to change lanes, turn into a street, essentially anything to maneuver your car other than in a straight line, please use your indicator! Look at this, I'm getting old and crusty and I haven't even hit 30... Young whippersnappers these days...

Last week I attended a 10 year high school reunion. Strangely enough, most of the idiots had thankfully grown up, while some had established egos not previously present. This, I must stress was in the minority. As it was quite aptly put, success shouldn't judged by how many zeros are at the end of your pay or whatever fancy title you've made up, as long as your happy what you're doing who cares? We figured anyone who boasted pay or job titles ought not to be seen for another 10 years anyway. While some conversations didn't progress further than the standard work and travel questions, old memories and good blokes made for an enjoyable night. Its a shame I'd lost contact with a lot of these people, and I must say its one of the benefits of Facebook.

Meanwhile the gig total is at 20 at 10 unique venues. Hopefully I can squeeze in 4 more to reach the goal of 24 for the year. One artist has dominated the shows this year, so I can't imagine being able to get close to this mark ever again. (Unless I decide to become a groupie and follow her around touring other countries). Liam Finn supported Sarah Blasko, and I came away extremely impressed by his one man band performance. The use of the loop pedal mimicking some audience "Woo Hoo'ing" and solo drumming certainly got the adrenalin going for the main show. Just a tiny amount of talent in that family... Regurgitator didn't fail to impress once again, although I'm hanging for the show to be posted online for purchase. Disappointing, it won't capture the stage invaders or crowd surfing from the night.

Do you tell people about the food stuck between their teeth or toilet paper on their shoe? Recently, I didn't realise until 11am that I had my fly undone. Great. I had to recount my foot steps and remember all the people that laughed for no apparent reason while I was at their desk. The question is, do you tell people about the sort of things? or save both parties the slightly awkward moment? I'll tell people, but at times it's just too difficult to let someone know there's something hanging from their nose.

Russian Roulette

2007-10-08T22:41:00.000+10:00

When is too long after the best before date? I figured when formulating this, it would be on the conservative side, with a couple of days leeway to cater for absent minded people like me. However, due to some laziness and only consuming milk in the morning coffee, I figured I could take a calculated risk. It didn't help that a toast addiction prevented consumption of cereal, which would've made short work of remaining carton. 1-2 days after the recommended date I had no problem with, however I found beyond this, I was waiting for the "chunky bits" to begin their descent down the carton's spout. My brother mocked me in the early going, referencing a Seinfeld standup bit, drinking punch bowls of milk just to finish it off. He came back on D-day +6, but didn't take the risk, sighting his smell as not being reliable enough to avoid a trip to the latrine. I succumb on Friday night (05/10) a full week after the recommended date. Perhaps a switch to the long-life variety may be on the cards...

Acknowledgment of Effort

2007-10-01T23:24:00.000+10:00

Let me just begin by saying that I have more chance in beating Tiger Woods at golf than I do in making a 5 star meal -I've picked up a club maybe 6 times. About a week ago I decided pumpkin was going to be used in some way, shape or form, thinking at the time it would go well with a leg of lamb. This post isn't an example of culinary excellence, but rather a strange chronicle of events that ended up with mashed pumpkin. The first time I ever attempted to make mashed potatoes -no this isn't a recent story!-, for some reason I decided peeling an entire spud and plonking it into boiling water was the most efficient way achieving the soft 'taters. I hear anyone reading this -yes I was a few stubbies short of a slab in those earlier years... That goes right along side accidentally adding water to custard powder instead of milk. (That was honestly a pause, laugh, did I actually do that? moment...)

Google'ing pumpkin recipes I looked for a mash recipe that wasn't: boil, mash, serve. Although the following isn't a great variant, it was quite satisfying especially with the onions.

Ok start with your humble pumpkin.

Sliced and diced the pumpkin and about the same amount of potatoes, boiling until both were soft.

In a separate pot, 2 small onions and some garlic was chopping finely (or until I couldn't bear the crying, I can't remember) and browned. The excess water was drained (probably should've kept the water for a soup base for later...) and then some milk, butter, salt and cheese was added. What resulted resembled something that I'd done on a sidewalk after a few too many beers.

My thoughts were that the pumpkin seemed to retain quite a bit too much water and, if I were a new born or 80 years old, it would have been an ideal meal. A short dash back to the pc to lookup "mashed potatoes too thin" I was looking for an answer that didn't involve boiling more vegies, but alas without potato flakes lying around (what exactly are they???), another spud had to hit the water.
Ok the end result is nothing fancy, anyone with half a brain would've been able to make it, however I'm giving myself an "acknowledgment of effort" ribbon (the same they give to all primary school kids even if they finish last). Surprisingly I did enjoy the taste of the two vegies mixed together and have to give thanks to the recipe (without the bacon).

Something For Kate - The Forum

2007-09-17T21:48:00.000+10:00

Squashed in like sardines at The Corner earlier in the year, Paul announced that the band was taking a break, stressing that they weren't breaking up and Dempsey was to begin work on a solo album. A few months later, a retrospective album has been released -The Murmur Years- and another round of shows. I'm happy they played at the The Forum, as there tends to be more room to move, the atmosphere's electric and you'll usually have the ability to avoid staring at the back of someone's noggin'.

Not having done Brain Training like they advertise on tv, I can't remember all the songs from the set, although pushing 2 hours, even the sharpest mind would have trouble memorizing them all. I've seen SFK 4 times so far, plus a JB instore, and must admit have enjoyed each show thoroughly. With such a large back catalog to choose from, no shows are the same, and I've noticed a couple of covers are usually thrown in.

There were a few songs I couldn't recoginse, however, it appeared I was in the minority as many of the devoted fans in the vicinity happily squealed in delight as the first few chords were played. From their latest studio album, personal favourites "Oh Kamikaze" and "California" got a run, while there did seem to be a larger selection from earlier work including "The Astronaut", "Jerry Stand Up" and "Three Dimensions" (I think!).

My favourite live song which never fails to invoke tingles down the spine is "Deja Vu", enhanced immensely with violin. Hearing a live version sans violin on a bonus disc from "Desert Lights", it's amazing just how much it adds as opposed to just guitars. One of the new songs from the retrospective: "The Futurist", hasn't grabbed me as yet, but I've found with their albums it's taken a number of listens to really get a feel for it.

The 2 covers from the night were "When the War is Over" by Cold Chisel and "Waltz #2 (XO)" from Elliott Smith. The Chisel cover was well done, and on the night, I just couldn't place the original artist which I put to that fact that"Mossy" and "Barnsey" weren't screaming the lyrics... With my poor music knowledge, I hadn't heard "Waltz #2" until that night, and it was enthusiastically appreciated by the audience. Having since purchased XO, it was an excellent version by Paul and Pip with just a guitar and violin. (There's that instrument again...)

In a pleasant surprise, they actually recorded the show, so I look forward to this impending release. I particularly wish to hear "Waltz # 2" again now that I'm more familiar with the original work. Unfortunately it looks like a longer break is on the cards and it will be interesting to see what Paul creates as a solo artist.

Sometimes People Are Just Too Nice

2007-09-09T00:27:00.001+10:00

If you're wondering where all the Simpsons pictures are coming from, there's a site which Serenity Later found to convert a photo into an equivalent Simpsons character. Yes I'll be on some FBI security database now, but it's highly addictive. I love the "barrel with straps" outfit.

A funny story happened a few weeks back and I've finally developed some guts to share it. It's quite rare that visitors come through our office, so if someone does, most people in the area will take notice. On this day, one of the most reserved, quietest ladies in the team had a female visitor going through some project work. Later on I casually asked my co-worker who the visitor was, to which she eagerly asked if I was interested. I was quite emphatic that my query was more out of being curious rather than interested and am certain that's how I left things.

A few hours later, my colleague came by asking if I was free. Thinking this was work related I obviously obliged, however when I got to her desk, I realised she had the visitor from earlier in the day. From there she introduced me to her, and promptly mentioned that she had her lunch already, but this new person needed food and to be shown the bistro downstairs. Ooookay...that took me by surprise, but being a standup gentleman, I took her down to the cafe and made small talk along the way down and back again. The eating area is a pretty sterile environment, with middle aged, gossiping groups, happily scoffing down artery attack meals each lunchtime.

I came back to my desk to some smiling colleagues eager to find out what happened. The bland story of going downstairs, making small talk and coming back up didn't really excite their day. Later, the afternoon coffee group went off and there seemed to be an unusual amount of chatter which I didn't really take much notice of. A few minutes later, I received a phone call from one of the guys asking me to elaborate on what happened earlier. Apparently people had been talking about the meeting, and it turned out that the visitor was asked/told:
1) Was she single?
2) Was she interested in meeting someone?
3) That there was someone who wanted to meet her

Typically I'd like to plan ahead for these sort of things. Not in the invading England to conquer London sort of planning, but at least 1 or 2 minutes to prep. Also it made quite a difference afterwards knowing that I was supposedly a horny, superficial male out to try and pick up anything that moved. I spent the rest of the day thinking about what I said and should've done... None the less, it made for an interesting afternoon, certainly more entertaining than doing any actual work...And no I haven't pursued it further. I don't think I can keep a straight face if I were ever to talk to the woman again... I'm manfully hiding under the desk when she comes by now...

In other uninteresting news, 2 gigs have gone by with Brooke Fraser at the Athenaeum -one of the most beautiful venues I've been to- and Something For Kate at the Forum. The former was a very talkative artist with some really nice songs and enthusiastic crowd, while SFK performed brilliantly, showcasing a wide variety of songs including an Elliott Smith cover. (The violin just adds that little bit extra...)

You've Made the List!

2007-08-08T23:24:00.000+10:00

Congratulations Bakers Delight High st Ashburton you've made the list! I'm sick of poor service, so I boycott any establishments that go out of their way to give me the shits. I had a craving for peanut butter so made a stop to get exactly that and some fresh bread. I entered Bakers Delight and lined up behind a gentleman, giving him enough space so I didn't cramp him up, but close enough to know I was in line. (Why do people get so close at ATMs??) He got served by a lady who appeared from the back (yeap, no school kids servicing on weekdays...) which left me next in line. The second woman behind the counter finished serving and, after rehearsing my order, I geared up to request my complicated version of "bread". At this time, an old lady weazled up on the inside lane and proceeded to cut the line! Not only was there no cursory glance to see who was next, but behind the counter there was no motion to me to come up to be served. Yeap, I'm just admiring the display of breads you have and thought I'd hang out here in the foyer. At this point another lady had joined the queue next to me and observed: "We're obviously lining up in the wrong spot" To which I smiled at her, and walked out shaking my head. Brumby's on that strip has my business...

I've got no issues if you don't see me, but this wasn't the case and it's just poor form to go ahead to serve someone else. This is by no means a black mark against other franchises, just the one at this location. End rant...(It's a bit harsh because usually they're great...)

To finish off the last bits from my trip, I love the Aussie dollar! 2 suits, 2 pairs of shoes, 5 shirts, 3 pants, 7 t-shirts, a suitcase and phone (that doesn't work now!) was the bounty from the short excursion abroad and it will be hard to justify buying anything locally now. I've found the place that does the t-shirts I bought, and it looks like a few credit card purchases aren't too far away...

A couple of gigs have also rounded out a couple of semi busy weeks: 2 x Sarah Blasko, OK Go and the Shins. A real show from OK Go including a scene from Les Misérables and some cameras attached to the microphones providing a different perspective for broadcast behind the band. The Metro, I felt was a really poor venue for music. The sound was pretty weak and the large bar positioned right in the middle eliminates the best spots in the house. This didn't really do the Shins justice and I'm sure in another venue I would have enjoyed their show more. That's what happens when you use a nightclub as a gig venue...

Food Experiences Abroad (Bangkok,Singapore)

2007-07-28T15:21:00.000+10:00

Continuing some of the experiences from abroad, I'll elaborate on some of the food experiences. Unfortunately anyone who's been to Bangkok or Singapore will probably recognise the establishments as they're quite popular with tourists. Unfortunately a number of places did not allow cameras so a lot of the images below are from the respective websites.

BANGKOK
The Fifth
Located in the MBK shopping centre it's hardly what you would call a food court. Thoughts from home sparked images of high-school casuals turning over old stir fry or toasting a bone dry sandwich which would be ripe for a trip to the latrine. I'll admit that it was devoid of locals which doesn't usually bode well. There are around 16 different establishments, all setup in the same fashion with a small square area where chefs mill around in a confined space, cooking meals to order. Upon entering, you receive a card by which you pass to any of the outlets for scanning, but you only pay once you've finished and exit.

It's probably not the ideal place to experience the local food, as all have different cuisines, however after quite some time trekking through the mall, it was good just to take a seat. We ordered about 4 different dishes to share between the 3 of us. A couple of bowls of Vietnamese noodles (I just had a hankering for them!) at 70 Baht each ($2.40 aud), Tom Yum Goong (120 Baht, $4.13 aud), a platter of Thai cold meats, Thai noodles, a few coconuts to drink (50 Baht each, $1.70 aud) and a variety of desserts. Overall a good selection of food, made fresh and certainly tasty, all in a pretty swish setting that wouldn't be out of place in a restaurant. Suddenly I was loving the Aussie exchange rate!

There are plenty of vendors on the streets so I'd say its a pretty good bet to try out those for the authentic taste from the city!

On the second day we were so exhausted from the day's events we lazily ordered room service. This time there were 4 Thai dishes between the 2 of us pigs, including some stwamed rice.

SINGAPORE
Takashimaya Food Court
Located on the main shopping street Orchard Rd, again, the loose term of food court from home can be used here. With limited seating, its an eat and run affair with a bustling crowd sampling foods from a seemingly endless amount of small stalls. (80 I've read)

I inhaled 3 custard cream puffs in 3 days and certainly enjoyed each one, and the small prawn/squid dumplings cooked in what looked like a giant muffin tin were also good for a snack on the run. It looks like the custard puffs are coming to Australia, so I'll be in line to get some as soon as they open. (Éclair, Vanilla and Strawberry have been sampled, and those 12 packs look positively evil!)

I came across an interesting device that would certainly ease some of the effort in preparing skewers. Ironically my brother pointed out that a friend of his was interested in importing one, but at $10,000 it seemed to be an expensive addition! I can't remember if it cooked them on the other side, but it certainly helped the procession of skewers to be prepared.

Brazil Churrascaria
Ok, I don't think Brazilian isn't part of Singapore's local cuisine, but it was certainly an interesting experience. Located at 14/16 Sixth Avenue, check your arteries at the door as this is a carnivore's dream!

A salad buffet makes way for a constant stream of waiters lugging around large skewers and knives carving off meat on demand. Don't think of the souvlaki shop's version of meat, these are small cuts of meat cooked and sliced immediately. Beef, sausage, fish, lamb, and chicken were all sampled from memory and an endless number had to be refused due to a full stomach. Fresh, juicy, warm pineapple that appeared was a surprising and nice alternative to break up the meat procession and allow some time to loosen belts and breathe a little.

Hint: be quick to determine if you want the offering as each table/plate has to be visited so they will race through the whole restaurant.

For dessert I tried the mango/icecream mix which was a satisfying end to the all-you-can-eat buffet.

No Signboard Seafood
The second last day in Singapore and last chance to go out with a food eating binge brought us to a cleverly named seafood restaurant, which had twice as many waiters than patrons at one stage late in the night. From memory I think we went out to the Geylang location, around 15-20 minutes from the CBD and although being a Monday night and 10:30, this place was packed. Not having eaten for some time (nice disclaimer), an order of chilli crab, 2 small lobsters, fresh prawns, Chinese broccoli and these small square bread rolls certainly satisfied our 3 bellies.

Cooked at the table, the tastiness of the prawns were a sideshow to the soup that they were boiled in. Full of flavour, it was an unexpected tummy favourite. Unfortunately with seafood there's always an initial tentativeness, as once you dig in, there's no return from the grubby fingers (hands, mouth, cheeks, etc). I think I paced myself well, starting off with my greens that required the use of utensils, progressing to the lobster which was conveniently halved down the middle to aid the extraction of meat, to the prawns and finally the crab. The small bread squares (no taller than a thumb and about the size of a tic-tac packet) were slightly sweet and crunchy but unfortunately too few to soak up the sauce from the chilli crab!

The locations on the website show a pretty classy set of tables chairs etc, but this one was outdoor with a couple of plastic chairs seen at most bbqs on the weekend. Service was very good and atmosphere fitting the humid surroundings. Definitely a nice place to end the trip and at least I can now tick chilli crab in Singapore off the list of things to eat.

Holiday blog

2007-07-24T14:47:00.000+10:00

Its damn good to be on holidays. I'm on 3 weeks leave and it's felt like a month already which is good. I've spent 10 days abroad visiting my brother in Singapore and made a short trip over to Bangkok. I thought I'd post a few observations on the trip.

Planes/Airports
This post by Thursday's Child is quite apt. My main hates in planes are those that are in such a rush to get out the door in the plane when there's no chance of moving and the armrest hogs. I'd suggest the middle seat have both due to having the most uncomfortable ride. One additional hate I encountered on the way home was a person with smelly feet. It was a night flight so I'm assuming this person hadn't showered and, taking off her socks, curling up into the chair only made the stench more potent. What do you do in that scenario? Both adjacent passengers were talkative and relatively friendly, but do you risk offending the person you need to sit next to for the next 8 hours?

I like the idea of being able to check in just an hour before flights in Asia and getting to the boarding gates at latest 15 minutes before the flight. It reduces any idle time at the airport which I experienced on the flight out of Australia. I must admit that the security in Australia is very thorough, although arriving back at 5:45am my patience was tested as I was randomly drilled by 2 separate customs officers about my trip. (I seriously don't look that dodgy do I?)

Taxis/Traffic
I now have a greater tolerance for bad drivers. I'm not sure why Singapore or Bangkok have indicators or lanes. Everyone weaves in and out without indicating, drive in the middle of the road and at high speed. You can't hesitate in a lane change and oddly enough it seems most drivers are used to the events that occur on the roads, and despite all the infractions I only experienced a couple of toots.

One little addition to some traffic lights I liked was a countdown on pedestrian (Singapore) and some road lights (Bangkok). It was quite satisfying sprinting across the road as it counted down from 3. At one intersection in Bangkok we were waiting for 10 minutes to cross the road. (no joke) There was a steady stream of cars bumper to bumper and traffic perpendicular eventually got impatient and began to drive through anyway! We suspect that the lights were controlled manually by a small hut at the intersection, but it did lead to some frustration, particularly as we were on the way to get a massage and I was lugging around a new suitcase I bought.

The best story from the trip was the airport cab ride in Bangkok. Strangely enough, entry into the hotel is guarded and cars undergo a under-the-car mirror inspection prior to pulling up to the entrance. Ordering a cab from the hotel we managed to get the nuttiest guy in Thailand. Mentioning to us that he was told to "Go, Go, Go" by his last passengers (obviously contestants from the Amazing Race) he informed us that he was only going by the speed limit (which was fine by us). Mosquitoes appeared in the cab, and being the hospitable driver, he took both hands off the wheel clapping in an attempt to kill ones close to him. This while thundering down the freeway at 130kph. So much for sticking to speed limits. Finally he turned up his custom mix tapes full bore and began singing along which I tried to secretly capture from the back seat, but only got a video of the music. In any case the traffic is horrendous in parts of Bangkok, but cabs are cheap (~$10aud for 50kms)

Next Food/Shopping

Mandate

2007-06-25T23:27:00.000+10:00

Not sure why there's been such a lull in posts as it certainly hasn't been an action packed 2 months...Yes I piked on the "Run to the G". At least I didn't pay the registration fee like a guy at work. The guilt was lessened by the fact that I've still been able to get out twice a week in the blistering cold for runs. One minute your sweating like a pig and next your making your way back to work in near freezing conditions being pelted by rain.

There was an article posted in the Good Weekend a few weeks back, which I couldn't resist commenting about. Ironically, I tend to have many 'mandates' but my criteria outlined would be slightly different to the article. Walks along the beach?? I'd like to clarify a few points on some of the observations I have.

Brunch is ok. It saves cooking 2 meals and who can turn down an all day breakfast?

Cafes seem to be less attention seeking than restaurants and more conducive to shorts and tees!

Food establishments with table cloths are to be avoided unless its yum cha. Candles can make an appearance otherwise.

Unlike the picture, if there are just 2 attendees, sitting on the same side of a table usually implies a need to be within 'arms around' distance and no 'buffer zone'. Plus it gives little room to maneuver a plate of food.

Avoid ordering the same meal.

I fully concur with the notion of 'no notice' cancellation if one party has a better female invite.

There hasn't been a time where a hug has been on display, generally its a firm, three pump handshake if a greeting or farewell is required.

Brian Nankervis hosted a music quiz fundraiser for a local highschool recently, and I was quite amazed at some of the knowledge of fellow contestants. I was the youngest on the table by a good 12-15 years and it made me wonder how much current music trivia I'd be able to retain 20 odd years from now. Obscure references such as a famous Beatles numberplate or when the Rolling Stones played at Kooyong and naming the first song they played was just cruel. It probably helped that some people on the table were actually at the gig, while I was still a good decade away from being born.

Needless to say it was an entertaining night, and while we were lucky enough to win, I had to endure 150 people watching me attempt for a few extra points trying to make it under a limbo bar. I managed a respectable 3rd and survive the initial embarrassment of being on stage. Apparently I was the only one not give a little dance before my attempts. What can I say, I was in it to win not entertain...

Comedy, Gigs and other stuff.

2007-05-07T21:08:00.001+10:00

It’s been a while between posts and life’s been ticking over, with the comedy festival, the end of the West Wing, a couple of gigs, and a hit of tennis squeezed in between.

I managed to make it to 4 shows at the comedy festival, and the aura and general hubbub of the city was a sight to see, as masses of people spilled onto the city streets surrounding the town hall. 3 of the shows were of Justin Hamilton, where I must stress that they were separate parts to one long story, rather than an awkward stalking episode. He has a knack of telling a story, and while there were some flat spots, he has to be applauded for tackling what must have been some sensitive personal tales. A near suicide attempt, an unexpected death of a loved one, and timely words from the innocence of a younger self, courtesy of a time capsule letter were some of the main areas that stood out. Despite these rather serious, non-comedic stories, -which made one uncomfortable at times- the shows were littered with well timed reflective tales, which were entirely relatable.

Lawrence Mooney completed the festival, and it was good to end on something entirely low-brow, requiring little thought or intellect to digest. A couple of the predominately middle aged punters certainly enjoyed the show to the point of feet tapping and throwing their heads backwards, not unlike Eddie Murphy in the Nutty Professor. Unfortunately due to a number of scheduling problems and sold out events, there were a myriad of shows that I missed out on.

With the end of the West Wing’s on Saturday nights, I’ll have to get off the couch and do something on Saturday nights now. The last episodes did seem to drag out and no doubt writers were thrown by the real life death of one of the main characters. Having said that, the behind the scenes view of the presidential race will increase my interest in both foreign and local politics. As I write this, I notice that the 6^th season is now available on dvd. Dammit!

Dan Kelly, Wilco, Dave Matthews Band and Something For Kate were slotted in during this posting hiatus and it was quite an thrill being in the second row for Wilco and experiencing my first stadium gig with DMB. Nels Cline certainly stole the show at the Wilco show, with a brilliant guitar performance and being that close I was able to appreciate the subtle changes in sound. The work and timing required with the various pedals and tremolo arm?? was a sight to be seen. The next few months are empty with only The Shins on the cards at the moment.

I’ve been running since around August last year and noticed that the annual ‘Run to the G’ is in 6 weeks. The comprehensive training guide in the paper a weekend ago has given some incentive to compete in the event, although the schedule of 5 training sessions a week seems more likely to kill any enthusiasm sooner rather than later. I walked around the office last week, testing interest and thankfully a consensus seems more likely to be for the 5km circuit rather than the 10km or ½ marathon (yeah right). I managed to make it around and complete 4.5kms Thursday, but I think there may be some requirement for me to run around with a portable defibrillator as my heart rate hit a max of 184 which is a little too close to the general max of 193 (220-age).

I was directed to this neat little pedometer here, which is handy as you can map out any circuit you run/walk/cycle by marking them on the map or just to have snoop at your neighbour’s backyard. Where does Google come up with these ideas???

Fashionably Late Never Works

2007-04-10T23:36:00.000+10:00

Ok I'll admit it; I was at home watching tv at around 8.00pm, the listed start time for Sarah Blasko on Wednesday night. I'd channel surfed to the Biggest Loser and they were showing one of the contestants doing the Canyon Swing in NZ. 'Hey I've done that!' I exclaimed as he lamented if the industrial strength harness would hold 100kgs whilst peering over the ledge 109m from the ground.

Fully expecting a support act before the main event, I'd planned an 8.30-8.45 arrival, for an expected 9.00 start. Driving past the venue my first thought was that there weren't many people milling outside, however by the time I made my way in, the lobby was filled at which point I thought the support had completed. My seat was dead centre five rows from the front and I began talking to my mate from work where I was informed that I'd missed half the show and was the middle of the intermission! Much like a kid being told Santa doesn't exist -but without the tears, just- my heart sank, shoulders drooped and I began cursing myself. Serves me right!

Needless to say, the 2nd half was brilliant, with the special guest being Glenn Richards from Augie March performing 3 songs with Sarah (one from each artist's catalogue and a cover)

Not to be beaten by my stupidity, once the show completed I was determined to see it in it's entirety. Without time to plan, I chose to book 2 tickets as the auto-allocation discriminated against a single ticket purchase, pushing you to the 2nd last row in a 3 seat block, next to one can only guess, a canoodling couple, instead of 5 rows closer. Unfortunately I only realised this after I'd already purchased the single. At midnight I had 3 tickets to go to a show that I was the only confirmed attendee.

I managed to convince my brother to head along, but couldn’t find a taker for the final ticket. We arrived well before 8.00 and I marvelled at the elegance of the National Theatre. Polite, formally dressed ushers who have no doubt grown old and classy with the establishment, directed a predominately young crowd into the auditorium.

The band’s classical section consisted of a French horn, viola, flute, cello and double bass, all sourced locally from Melbourne, while usual suspects Jeff de Araujo (percussions/drummer) and Robert Cranny (guitar/piano) rounded out the ensemble. With the richer sounds of the strings and subtleties of the flute and French horn, old favourites were given a new sound and were somewhat clearer than at the larger Forum last year. Personal favourites ‘All Coming Back’, ‘Cinders’, ‘At Your Best’ and ‘Perfect Now’ were the standouts from the first half.

After a brief intermission, the special guest was scheduled to make an appearance. Expecting a repeat from the previous night, I was shocked and excited to see Tim Rogers make an appearance fresh from the US. His presence on stage lifted the crowd a couple of notches and it was interesting to see -what I would’ve thought to be an unlikely pairing- perform. It worked well and I’m curious as to the guests selected for the other shows.

The last 2 songs for the night, ‘Always On This Line’, ‘Planet New Year’ (Ironically the new video clip features a friend of a friend who I think also directed the clip which is quite freaky) finished the night perfectly, while in the encore of ‘Your Way’ I marvelled at the percussion of just some claves? and shakers.

People may question if I get bored seeing the same artist so frequently, but out of the 3½ shows I’ve seen since the latest album, one’s been pretty much a large venue album launch with an 8 piece band, the next in a small gig with bare essential accompaniments and the final one as mentioned different again. Having said that, even if they were all the same I’d still be amongst the first in line to get tickets!

My ears are still ringing

2007-03-24T18:43:00.000+11:00

The first thing that struck me arriving at the Corner to see Yo La Tengo were the amount of bikes around the venue. 9.30pm on a Tuesday night and every metal pole with bolt in the ground had a bike attached to it and in many instances multiple. I had never heard a song by the band prior to entering the gig and my personal opinion was that around 70% of the night was great. The remainder seemed a little hit and miss, with the absolute stinker being 5 minutes (That's not an exaggerated!) of guitar feedback. I cringe slightly when it extends for over a couple of seconds, but at that length it left many in the crowd blocking ears. To be honest it almost ruined what was for the most part a very solid performance. The ballads were by far the standouts from the night, with carefully delivered lyrics and controlled instrumentals. Once the fast paced numbers came out, electric guitars often drowned out promising melodies. We felt sorry for one of the band members whom we estimated played the same 4 chords 400+ times during a 10 minute song. I've spent too much time on aspects I felt let the night slip a few notches, but contrary to the points above there were many excellent songs from the night, and in 2 hours of new music it's harsh to expect a entire gig to hit the spot on every song. The gems came in the encores and there were more than enough from the night for me to visit their albums.

It's a shame that I missed out on Elbow, and according to a local newspaper it's been touted as the gig of the year... ok Herald Sun, jumping the gun a bit? It's only March!

After drafting this post and saying, yeah I'll get back to that later, I've finally got off my arse to finish the post. Yo La Tengo was at the start of the month!

Wednesday night was the anticipated Augie March gig. Sold out on a balmy night I was thankful for a spot in front of the mixing desk. I can't read crowds and made a stab at 500 as the capacity of the venue. Forever curious, I found a listing for Vic, and looking at the numbers, I still can't figure 850 crammed in, but on this night, it would be the first time any imaginary dance moves would have been unachievable.

Venue capacities:
Corner Hotel = 850
HiFi Bar = 950
Northcote Social Club = 300
Prince of Wales = 950
Ruby's = 275
The Palace = 1,500
The Spanish Club = 650

I thoroughly enjoyed the gig, but am struggling to recall the set list. I figure I'm just getting old... I was hoping for more from their most recent album, however all the main songs I'd hoped for were played. Standouts that I can remember were 'One Crowded Hour', 'Bottle Baby' and 'The Cold Acre'. I was anticipating 'Vernoona' going into the night and was hoping for a campfire type rendition. A little surprised, a slightly rockier version was played, but by no means was this a bad thing. There were no missed chords causing glaring looks between artists on this night, and they were jovial and happy to engage with the crowd. The lighting certainly enhanced the atmosphere and it was an excellent gig from a polished band.

Currently listening to:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

The 'Gurg

2007-02-27T00:06:00.001+11:00

Sunday night. An ideal time to venture into Richmond with no crazy drivers, footy traffic or trams banked up. It resembled a ghost town at 9.30 with small groups of people making it to the bars near the train station end. Whilst waiting outside, I was surprised to see Quan and Ben casually making their way into the venue, fumbling for the relevant pass to get in.

I remember picking up Regurgitator's Unit in my high school days thinking it was like buying a dirty magazine, the 18+ restriction made it all the more attractive. Their music won't appeal to everyone, but based off the effort last night, people should go just for the entertainment value. They appeared to be having a blast playing, and it is amazing just how talented they are. Complex synthetic beats are mixed with some great guitar, drums and cheeky lyrics. The opener of 'My Friend Robot' certainly got the crowd going after a somewhat dodgy support act. It's hard to believe that they've been around since '94 and their early songs haven't lost any appeal. Their site is brilliantly original, developed by Quan and an interesting view of their history.

It was a sight to see the half the Corner jumping in unison and singing along. Due to poor form, I couldn't recognise one rocking song till the crowd chimed in with the unmissable catchphrase: I will lick your ....... At one point Quan playfully tackled the drummer for continuing beats too long, while also passing the mic into the crowd for some impromptu lines. Old classics that I'd been hanging for got a run: '! (The song formerly known as)', 'Everyday Formula', 'Black Bugs', '1234' as well as more recent offerings 'The Drop', 'Superstraight', 'Hullabaloo' and 'C'mon' (that I can remember...)

They punched through a long playlist and I can't remember half the songs played, but the rocking sounds and vibe of the night made it a memorable gig. March is a busy month for live music and then it's closely followed by the Comedy Festival and Easter. Too bad there's work in between...

Currently listening to:
The Killers - Sam's Town
The Grates - Gravity Won't Get You High
Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir

Gig no.1 2007

2007-02-10T13:55:00.000+11:00

The first gig of the year and its February. That's a little disappointing, but there are a few more coming up shortly to make up the numbers. It was Sarah Blasko so I won't start gushing, mainly because I don't want to appear like an obsessed fan, but it was another great set and it was interesting to hear in a small venue with a stripped back band. We ventured out to Ruby's in Belgrave and the atmosphere of a sold out venue was electrifying. Unlike any other, she had to weave her way through the crowd to get to the stage, and I had to restrain myself from getting all excited as she brushed passed in front of me.

With a tuck shop type blackboard adorning the wall listing upcoming gigs, she paid homage to Augie March on making it to number 1 on Triple J's hottest 100 list. Finally, I recognised quite a few songs on the list, usually its a matter of 'who that?'. It was the first time I've tried to take pictures at a show, and the results were less than impressive. It was probably the first time I noticed just how many were taken by the audience on the night, which carried on after the end, as she was more than accommodating to pose with fans and head to the merchandise stand straight after the final encore.

An update on the West Wing: My obsession is waning, almost to a standstill as I'm still half way through the 5th season. The current episodes showing on free to air have more appeal, and not unlike what' s happening currently in the US. It's the behind the scenes process that's intriguing, rather than the policies and it will be interesting to see how the real world mimics the fictional.

I've been struggling to find new music to listen to lately, but recently picked up The Grates based off a few articles I'd read. I must say it's a fun album and well done. Like Spiderbait's Grand Slam, short punchy songs fill the album with catchy sing-a-long lyrics. The question I have to anyone reading out there is how you find new music? We share music amongst mates for sampling, and will buy the albums if we like them, but more recently I've used gut feel to buy albums. Charts are useless and reviews can be hit and miss depending on who's written them.

Nathan deserves a raise

2007-01-21T15:39:00.000+11:00

My nameplate at work shows my given name as: Johnathan, so I put a piece of tape over the 'h' so it shows as Jo nathan rather than request a new one. No-one really comes around who doesn't know me, let alone rely on the nameplate to establish my name, or so I thought. A fairly intense person came around to the pod, asking the guy behind me a question. He handballed off to me 'Jon, this is such and such, can you help with...' He walked away saying: 'Thanks for that Nathan'. I initially had no idea where he got that from, and when the penny finally dropped, it was too late.

I noticed that a napkin partially obscured my nameplate over the Jo part showing: nathan. I proceeded to clear out the whole area in case he came around again.

About 15 minutes later, I was fairly immersed in my work and he stealthed me from behind. 'Nathan, just wondering if you could check this out.'
Mistake (1) I shouldn't have turned around when he said Nathan.
Mistake (2) At this stage I should've corrected him.
Mistake (3) I'd forgotten his name.

The end result was that I had to e-mail him something, so was compelled to acknowledge that I didn't know his name, however I thought I'd been called Nathan too many times to correct him. A bad decision by me...

My colleagues started to formulate plans how to reiterate my name without making him look like a fool should he come around again. Eg Politely interrupt the conversation and clearly say my name, talk about myself in the third person or the wonders of nameplates citing mine as an example. None of which I was going to try. I had to email him, so I thought he'd notice the 'From:' portion of the email that it was from a Jonathan and not a Nathan. Unless he though Nathan had an assistant named Jonathan?

Anyway about 30 minutes later he was back again and said: 'So is it Jonathan or Nathan?' problem solved...

Whenever someone has food stuck on their face I let them know, I just got stuck in an situation where I didn't think fast enough... At least it's not as bad when someone sent me an email addressing it to Joan. I got called Joanie for at least the next couple of months by anyone who knew...

Going slightly nuts

2007-01-15T20:25:00.001+11:00

On the 29th of December I decided to purchase seasons 1-5 of The West Wing. It was one of those spur of the moment purchases that I might've regretted. I've watched the show, but didn't make it a permanent fixture each week and thought for $32 and $25 for the 1st, a calculated gamble. With a long weekend coming and a staunch opposition to New Year's Eve parties, I was all set. Additionally with a quiet patch at work, days were pretty short.

The following is quite tragic:
17 days have passed (408 hours) since the purchase
9 of these were work days (Assume 5 hours free time per day) (45 hours)
8 of these holidays or weekends (Assume 10 hours free time) (80 hours)
Total free time 125 hours

I've motored through 86 episodes. At approximately 40 minutes per episode that adds up to 3440 minutes or 57 hours. When I say that out loud that's pretty bad... and what's worse is its more TV I'd watch in a couple of months... From my calculations I've spent around 46% of my free time watching The West Wing.

I'm now not only addicted to the show, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do once I've finished the 5th box set. Also, as there's a gap between 5 finishing and what they're showing on the ABC now, I'm lost with some of the plot lines. The writing is amazing and while the dialog is at times too fast for this brain to digest, has kept me interested from start to finish. The characters are likable on many levels and makes one think about how much stuff happens on the other side of the fence. Speech writers and press secretaries now have a new found appreciation from me...

So for the few that read this blog if you were wondering where I've been, well, I haven't been doing anything constructive or social. My personal hygiene is ok, I'm having trouble constructing sentences and frequently been imagining a job at the oval office. Well, maybe not with the current administration...

Also in those 125 hours, I've been subtly noticing the ABC2 guide. The New Year's Day programming included:
The Doves: Live At Eden 2002, Bloc Party: Live In France 2005, Franz Ferdinand: Live In France 2004, Placebo: Live In France 2004, Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Live In France 2004, PJ Harvey, The Bravery: Live in France 2005, Radiohead: Live in France 2003, The Pixies: Live In France 2004, Blur: Live, The Vines,
The Audreys: Live At The Gov

I almost cried knowing that I'd missed all these shows, so I decided to get a SD set top box. While the above probably occurs once a year, there seems to be a regular batch of music each week and interesting documentaries. The only set I caught from the list was The Audreys which was repeated at a later date. It included some short conversations with 2 members with insights into the development of the band. An interesting note was that they tried to play a different cover at each gig on this recent tour (30 dates). On this occasion it was 'In Between Days' by The Cure. When we saw them it was Neil Young's Hurricane and a Dolly Parton song.

I promise to get out into the daylight, do things involving other human beings...Maybe just one more episode...

Christmas

2006-12-25T01:48:00.000+11:00

4 day weekend! I've slowly gotten my Christmas cheer and the year, in retrospect, has flown by. Contrary to the last, the work group decided to get into the Xmas decorations around the office, which included cutting out dozens of colour photocopied lollipops, to stringing lollies together to create an alternative to tinsel hanging from the roof. It also required me to create some gingerbread biscuits to which I got the response that I'd make a great wife one day. They turned out to be edible which was all that I was aiming for -including the Michael Jackson circa 1980's one- top right of the tray. I started thinking about decorating, but gave up when I saw the time and didn't have any ready-made icing. They seem to pale to some of the offerings I've seen lately here.

Fortunately we beat the other efforts at different sites and won a $300 prize which will go towards the multiple fires that are likely to be generated from the massive amounts of ornaments hung near white hot lights on the ceiling.

Friday night concluded the final gig this year to make a paltry 8 -when in comparison to some of the readers of this blog. The night began with drinks at the Imperial where, after just one the little man in my head who prevents inner thoughts from becoming audible, took a break. Needless to say it made the evening more enjoyable from then on. We headed off to The Spanish Club to see Even, supported by Bob Evans, Mike Noga & The Gentlemen of Fortune, with a special guest DJ and MC'd by Brian Nankervis. We passed on the first support act and half of Bob Evans in favour of a few more drinks at the front bar which was pretty packed.

It's the first time I've been to The Spanish Club and it's an impressive venue, from an entrance you'd likely see in a European castle, to the classy design and Persian rugs inside. (Lucky rugs never seem to be sold at full price according to all those crazy warehouse ads -minimum of 250% off!- is that possible?)

It was to some surprise that the guest DJ was none other than Tim Rogers from You Am I. With Brian Nankervis as MC, it felt like an episode of RickWiz and there was a mini quiz inbetween sets, thankfully somewhat easier. Rightfully, a punter was correctly denied a prize for identifying a Nikki Webster song with about 5 sample seconds.

I won't say too much on the main set by Even mainly because I hadn't heard them prior to the night so I can't identify any of their songs. Needless to say they didn't leave anything on stage and all songs played sounded impressive but what did standout were some of the awesome guitar openings. I'll have to check out some of their albums now...

While we knew it was likely that Tim Rogers would take to the stage and pump out a song or two, the 2nd encore/finale was a fantastic way to finish off the year. Davey Lane from You Am I jumped up from the crowd, there was a huddle for a couple of minutes and the 5 on stage blasted out Jumping' Jack Flash by the Stones. It trumped any expectations and we left with the venue ringing ears and happy faces. Cheers for organising it Jimbo. A great end to the year for music...

Merry Christmas to anyone reading this. It's 1.35am and Santa still hasn't visited. I even made biscuits...

Favourites

2006-12-18T00:42:00.000+11:00

Compiling a list of my favourite 20 albums is pretty hard. I'm certain if I re-visit the list in few months time it will be different. Its also unfortunate that I really only started buying CDs quite late in my life. I know I've missed out on countless gems in my teenage years and have now filled my collection with a number of "Best of's". (Eg U2, Pearl Jam, Crowded House, INXS, REM etc) As I didn't want the list to read Best of's from 1-20, they're excluded.

1) Sarah Blasko - What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
What can I say? It's still playing strong, I'm bias, a huge fan, but I haven't tired of any songs since the first play.

2) Garbage - Bleed Like Me
Personally I think this is their strongest album with a solid mix of what made them unique in the 90's with new'ish sounds.

3) Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set - What Was Left
Sunday afternoon album with a great mix of instruments, oddly with quite depressing lyrics at times. Not that you'd notice with Clare's delivery.

4) No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
Start to finish a great pop album. Catchy lyrics and great sounds. Haven't enjoyed anything they've made since.

5) Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys
Fantastic voice, great use of the piano.

6) Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright
"Bloody Mother F****ing A**hole". Angry, angry young woman. What a musical family...

7) Something For Kate - Desert Lights
It's not just the bassist that makes this band good. I enjoy this more so than their older stuff. Great breadth of songs here.

8) Sarah Blasko - The Overture and the Underscore
I probably didn't rate this album as high as this after the initial listens, but after seeing her live last year I revisited it.

9) Garbage - Version 2.0
I was eagerly anticipating this after the first single and remember I wasn't disappointed back in those uni days.

10) PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
"Good Fortune" still gives me the tingles down the spine

11) Fiona Apple - When The Pawn
It was either this or "Extraordinary Machine". It's pleasantly surprising how many good songs are on this.

12) N*E*R*D - In Search Of
"Provider" is outstanding and the followup album is almost as good.

13) The Audreys - Between Last Night And Us
Makes the banjo cool. Great vocals and up a few spots because of the live shows.

14) Fort Minor - The Rising Tied
The only rap album I've heard that isn't all about pimps, ho's, bling and sex. "Kenji" being the best, being about WWII internment camps.

15) Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
After reading the Anthony Kiedis autobiography and what inspired "Venice Queen" it made me go back and appreciate the album.

16) Regurgitator - Unit
"Everyday Formula" and "Black Bugs" need I say more? I still remember this was one of the first albums I got that had an 18+ restriction. The giggling at the end of "Modern Life" still freaks me out.

17) Linkin Park & Jay-Z - Collision Course
Ok this one is a little embarrassing, but I must admit to get me going for any sort of exercise, this album does it. Like "Eye of the Tiger".

18) Eminem - The Eminem Show
Yes its crass, rude, cringe worthy, but it's also funny, clever and amazing how he can get words to rhyme. Just don't take any of the lyrics literally.

19) Garbage - Garbage
"Only happy when it rains"

20) Gorillaz - Demon Days
Takes you to another world with songs like the one featuring Dennis Hopper's spoken word.

Rich, Yossarian, and M's nemesis have also compiled favourite/summary of gigs for the year. I would too if I went to enough, but I'll list my top 3:

1) Something For Kate - The Forum
Packed, singing crowd, brilliant live band. The violin solo for Deja Vu...awesome
2) Sarah Blasko - The Forum
Sounded better than the album. Is that possible?
3) The Audreys - Ruby's Lounge
Metres from the stage on a couch...try doing that in the big smoke. Great vocals. Does Taasha ever stop smiling?

Ramblings

2006-12-10T11:35:00.000+11:00

Not sure what to write about but there are a few topics I need to get off my chest...

Terribly sorry to the woman who served me at HMV at Chadstone last Thursday. She obviously wanted to engage me in conversation when I went to purchase a CD. I smiled and nodded, but that's about it. I wasn't rude, but I felt bad and spent the rest of the afternoon being extra friendly to anyone else that served me. Even the seedy moustache lady who altered my jeans.

I read a couple of letters in the Sunday paper re: Naomi Robson not returning to host the hard-hitting Today Tonight. Here's one:
'I am shattered Naomi will not host Today Tonight next year. I certainly hope the show does not go downhill' R. Melchionna

Downhill? How worse can the show go? as I rub my belly with the recommended tanning magic beans. Cue the 'Rock Bottom' episode from Simpsons.

The end of the year is rapidly approaching and the workplace is getting in the swing of xmas decorations etc. But I also seem to notice the little things that start to give me the shits. Whether its the overtly loud taping of a mouse button (honestly do you need to thump each click?) to the loud talker who chomps individual peanuts not unlike stomping through glass with gumboots. Hmmm they do sound fresh and it makes me go to a pub and down a frosty beer... thanks...

I hate shopping crowds, I just want to go in and get the hell out of there. Hint to anyone wishing to do shopping when no-one's around: In the past I've always gone just when all the shopping centres just start late nights. This year it'll be this Tuesday. Chadstone's open until 9pm and hopefully like last year, empty. The crowds and mayhem are all worth it when Christmas day comes along and the rellies get together with the little tykes gleaming, non-corrupted attitudes that make the day special once again.

Shopping on Friday was successful, at least for me... the 24 box set for season 1-5, 3 albums and ingredients for gingerbread men. Not sure if I'd want to be the people at work eating these...I'd better make sure they're edible tonight just to be sure.

M's nemesis, in response to a Favourite 20 albums list, do I dare unleash something that will reek of poor taste? Of course. Something will come shortly. Thanks for the prompt and suggestion!

Weirdsville

2006-11-26T00:34:00.000+11:00

If you were to travel to Belgrave by train, it's all of 36 stations from the city. It's only 16 for me and I find that a pain commuting, so I can't imagine anyone wishing to do 36 on a daily basis. The reason for travelling east on Wednesday (by car) was to see the winner of the best Blues and Roots band from this year's Aria awards -The Audreys. The venue was Ruby's Bar and Lounge which according to their own site is located in Weirdsville, proclaiming to be "an oasis in a desert of bogans." It's a trek out of the way, but if you look at their list of bands that have played there, they seem to attract an impressive lineup. In hindsight, it only took 10 minutes longer to get there than heading into the city, however I did pull over at one time as I thought I went too far as the forests began to close in.

Once I found the place there were no problems with parking, while the line extended to just one and I got the now more familiar sheepish grin after receiving my id back as more door staff realise I'm about 5 years older than them. The venue has a stage in the corner with a couple of couches against walls, with tables and chairs scattered throughout. When I arrived Liam Gerner was enthusiastically singing as support and produced quite a good set. The highlight being the scurrying away of some females sitting about 5 metres from the stage, as a unintended burst of saliva descended toward them. The crowd was noticeably young and predominately female, which wasn't lost on my companions as I was continually egged on to display my 'moves'. Thankfully as I was driving there was only limited drinking and besides my 'moves' cover half a postage stamp and would only result in embarrassment.

A couch was secured no more than a metre from the stage and ensured there were no sore knees or feet on this night. I've never ventured that close to the stage and it gave a different perspective to the show. There's no back entrance to the stage, so the band is forced to navigate through the crowd which also makes the encores a little awkward. I hadn't heard too much of The Audreys prior to getting tickets and I'd had the album for about 2 weeks. While there were a few songs that did grab me, I couldn't seem to get fully into it.

One thing that stood out was the amazing voice of Tashaa Coates. It's similar to Sarah McLachlan's with the song of the night being their cover of "Don't Change" by INXS, which actually sounded better than the album version. In addition to standard instruments, the melodica, harmonica, ukulele, reso-phonic, banjo, violin, lap steel guitar and double bass were used which gave a nice mixture of sounds throughout.

"You & Steve McQueen", "Oh Honey", "Nothing Wrong With Me", "Pale Dress", "Banjo and Violin" and a Dolly Parton (*shudder*) cover were other highlights from the night and I was able to appreciate the banjo for more than something played only by slack jawed hillbillies wearing straw hats. The violin, ukulele and harmonica were other instruments that really made songs stand apart from their album equivalents. In all, fantastic songs and really captivating vocals.

I did manage to double up the next night to see them at the Corner Hotel and while the set was identical, the music was just as good. Interestingly enough it was at the Corner where parts of the audience were yabbing away during the set. (I'm still not sure why people do that...) See them if you get a chance, if only to see a ukulele being played.

Reluctant Star?

2006-11-13T19:50:00.000+11:00

I went to see Sarah Blasko at the Forum on Friday night. Those who've read previous posts will not find this surprising considering my 'gushing' review of her new album. Despite significant press, glowing reviews and solid sales, unfortunately the gig was only half full. This was a real shame, as the night was exceptional, showcasing a mix from both albums. Her unique and stunning voice surely puts her as one of the best female performers at the moment.

With an 8 piece band, containing a viola (thanks Rich), double bass, cello, piano, drum kit, a couple of guitars and a 'studio rhythm section' a rich array of sounds filled the night, with one of the highlights being the resonating piano sections in 'Explain'. All songs except 'Showstopper' were played from the new album and it was amazing how 'on the money' all the songs were -as if they'd been touring for months.

I got tingles with the openings of 'The Garden's End' and 'All Coming Back', with the latter being the best song for the night. 'The Woman By The Well' managed to get the first ever 'shhh's' I'd heard at a non-jazz gig but resulted in a camp fire cosy type feel. 'Queen of Apology' probably left the pianist with cramp but was impressive how well the song came off, as -from a non-musician- it'd be a difficult one to pull of live. Other highlights from the new album were 'Hammer' with the killer chorus, 'Planet New Year' and my personal favourite 'Always On This Line' (which has a great one-take (I think) video clip).

Fan favourites 'Always Worth It', 'Don't U Eva', 'Remorse', 'Perfect Now' and 'At Your Best' gave any first time listeners a showcase of diverse offerings from the first album. Neither of the covers -'Flame Trees' and 'Don't Dream It's Over'- were played, while being favourites would've perhaps taken away from the main showcase being the new album.

Sarah's voice is amazing with most songs sounding as though ripped directly off the produced album. You couldn't fault any of the performances, although it appears she does struggle slightly with the attention that comes along with it. Having said that, I can't imagine how difficult it would be out there with hundreds of eyes watching and listening to your every move and word. In a recent interview in inpress:

Having "always thought of [herself] as someone who's not an extroverted person at all", Blasko's continually mortified at being spotted by people and the 'encounters' that go with.

which is I guess an unfortunate by-product of success. You just want to do something you love and push it out to the wider audience -which will generally mean endless mind numbing interviews asking 'how was it making this album?'- but once you're more successful, you surrender privacy as you're recognised and assumed to be accessible. Some people can do this, but obviously some are just private people like you and me.

If you have the chance, check out her gigs around Australia, otherwise go get the album!

Footpath Etiquette?

2006-11-05T20:02:00.000+11:00

Sorry, I'm one of those people who always takes the stairs when there's an elevator and, when on foot, tries to get from A to B walking as fast as possible. I don't particularly like waiting for elevators and I don't like the crowded space. (Eg how close is too close or am I not squeezed in enough for that extra person to fit in? It says maximum capacity is 33 people and we have 10, but we're squished!). Ironically, at work we have 4 floors and the majority of people take the elevators. You've got to be kidding! Unless you smoke and developed gangrene like on those anti smoking ads, or waiting for the chance encounter with a hottie from accounting, you've got to take the stairs. Its approximately 200 steps from the car to the desk, any toilet/lunch breaks and I reckon people would be lucky to break 2000 in a day. Thank god I go for a run twice a week now...

I walk not in the 'He really needs to get to a toilet' sort of speed, but a brisk pace. I'll usually find myself at least walking partially on the road as an increasing amount of people seem to think its a one way strip. A regular footpath has enough width for 3 average sized humans and enough for 2 lanes of traffic, but without proper signage I think people are either lost or stupid. Here are some scenarios:

1) 2 in the middle
-Stick to one side (suggest left) or the other but not in the middle. It makes it hard to get around and you're likely to do some line dancing manoeuvres to get around oncoming traffic.

2) 3 straddling in a line
-Its on the onus of the person on the outside right to tuck themselves behind their companion to give way to oncoming traffic. Remember this rule if you're a tag-along with a couple that you've always got to stick on the right. (Even if you're a guy and it goes girl-guy-guy you may need to swallow your macho pride)

3) The single wanderer
-Either drifts from either side with slow plodded steps looking skyward, marvelling at the architecture, looking down punching in a text or counting change. Careful, if you bump into them, you're likely to cause them to spill the $10 worth of 5 cent coins on the ground and will need to help pick them up. Usually ensure you're at least a good 2 metres from their vicinity.

Its funny seeing 2 equally stubborn parties meet when neither decides to give way. Its gold seeing them clash and it usually results in both parties either giving the glare to each other or some astonished facial remark not quite believing that the world doesn't revolve around them and that crowds don't dissipate when they walk not unlike Moses parting the seas.

What I always tend to find is that I'm getting out of the way of other people. It gives me the shits but then I think maybe everyone else has given up and decided they couldn't be bothered getting out of other peoples way too. I think the rule should be if you're in the majority then you give way and if its even then both parties are to give a slight amount of room for each other. When someone does do the polite thing, do the subtle head nod to acknowledge the gesture...

Album of the Year?

2006-10-25T23:02:00.000+10:00

Ok, I'll start by saying any opinions I may have on this album may be skewed. I'm a huge fan which may distort my opinion, but only after 2 days of listening, I must say that this is one of my favourite albums. The artist is Sarah Blasko and the album is: 'What the Sea Wants the Sea Will Have'. Unfortunately I missed the signing she did at JB-Hifi last Sunday, however I had already pre-ordered an autographed copy from the online site. I didn't really have any pre-conceived ideas about the album and I enjoyed the first single [explain]. In an interview with Triple J, she mentions that this was not the resounding opinion of others to be the first single, however she decided to go ahead, create the video clip and release it. It's a fantastic clip, inspired by 'Watership Down' and is a great fit for a great first single.

Onto the album. There's a great mix of catchy choruses and slow thoughtful lyrics. In contrast to the previous record, there seems to be a much greater variety in the pitch at which she sings at within the songs. Also I notice that there are few songs with fantastic piano which I don't recall being too prevalent if at all previously. Most notably 'Queen of Apology' which just has a couple of piano notes throughout, but, accompanied with a similarly constant drum rhythm and nicely timed lyrics it results in a really good song. I would love to see this live, as I'd appreciate how hard it would be to pull off!

For me the standout from the album has to be 'Always On This Line'. Just something slightly different to the others, sung in a lower key with a catchy chorus. Similarly 'The Garden's End' has a great couple of constant guitar 'plucks' (Sorry about the terminology) almost throughout, a technique that I really like in songs. It's also interesting to hear 'The Woman By The Well' which I think was played back at the POW gig last year and the lyrics on a piece of paper. It's good to see that it made it onto the album. 'Showstopper' is one of those songs that grows on you with each listen, while I see 'Planet New Year' as the 'Always Worth It' of this album, with the distinction of having a Toy Piano listed as one of the instruments used.

Just on that, another great aspect of the album is the diverse use of accompanying instruments. Just look on the inside of the CD cover to discover the instruments used on each song. The CD is nicely packaging, with a little photo album with some snaps from the recording studio. With the production of the album's songs as a guide, its not unexpected that physical package appears to have been meticulously put together.

In short, there are a diverse range of songs on the album and overall its something I know I'll come back to many times. I hate people who review albums who say that artists produced something too similar to their previous ones. Honestly if it sounds good who cares? In this instance however, in my opinion, the second offering by Sarah Blasko is a contrast to the first in subtle ways and explores different musical avenues. Its a shame that there aren't more radio stations like Triple J that help discover and promote these artists. Good on them for naming this the feature album of the week - and understandably so.

People of Australia, get out and get some tickets to the live performances as she's touring in the next few weeks. I have my tickets and will be at the Forum. I saw her last year and thoroughly enjoyed the show with 'Flame Trees' and 'At Your Best' being favourites. If you don't believe my thoughts, the beauty of the internet showcases the songs on her website. Don't miss out on this one...

Run the Gauntlet

2006-10-16T19:14:00.000+10:00

I'm not sure where it went, but it appears that Melbourne has gone from winter straight into summer. Since when is it mid to late 30's in October? Anyway, Saturday night I ventured out to drinks for a mate's birthday in the city. The folks that catch the train usually keep you amused for the ride in for the most part, however I always take some music to listen on the trip in. You usually get a mix of people ranging from those that find the fluorescent lights of the train overbearing and requiring sunglasses, to those guys whom for some reason have pants half way up and their jocks hanging out. This is finally mixed with those getting an early start with the 'Jim Beam and cola' cans, and the polo shirt with the 'collar up' crowd. Ironically a guy whom I went to high school with, wrote an article 'To pop or not' on this very subject, however I'm of the opinion that there is no place for 'popped' collars other than for Elvis impersonations or legitimately to block the sun. (Also see Seinfeld for the 'Pretty boy Tony' line for a funny impression.)

In the city at around 7 and there's surprisingly a scant amount of people about. We decided to venture through Hardware lane for some food and that's where the fun begins. Much like Lygon st (little Italy for those not from Melbourne) each restaurant has their over-friendly staff attempting to woo you in. The only difference is that this is a narrow lane no wider than a few metres so you'll get hammered by dueling restaurants on either side. The trick is to gather some momentum and if you're going to stop to read menus, do so behind a couple that's already getting the 'array of fancy cheeses' speech. Our first run through, we were unfortunately without a battle plan, walked through, acknowledged the 'Evening gentlemen' but pretended to be passing through to get to the other end of the lane... Then comes the slightly embarrassing part; The double back. A slightly slower pass and we urked of uncertainty as many started to taste blood, starting to give the 'Each meal comes with a complimentary beer!' to win our business. But, when in doubt head back to a place you know best, so we ventured off to a place we'd been before. Some satisfying mains and desserts later it was time to head off.

We were off to Bambu which is a small bar on Flinders Lane. As my mate mentioned as we walked in, its like a scene from 'Fight Club' a couple of flights of stairs down into the unknown, opens up to a long array of couches on the right with a path leading up to a bar at the end of the room. We were in early, so there were only a handful of people around, but this at least enabled us to reserve a couch. The drinks flowed and I was satisfied with mates and actually able to hear conversations. I tried a new 'low carb' dutch beer which tasted nice enough, but I don't really have to worry about the extra carbs I'm getting from my beer... As the night ventured on, I was surprised at how quiet the place was. At its maximum there were probably only around 20 people in the whole place with a capacity of around 100 or so. I find this ridiculous. Not only was this a Saturday night, but it's a classy bar, with cool surrounds and a great setup. We were understandably ushered out around 1am to seek an alternative source of poison. It must've been one of those nights, as the city streets were also quite empty. We started back through the city, walking past Icon bar where the obligatory bar dancing was taking place (is there so little room in there or is it just something that happens?) and ended up at Misty Place on Hosier lane. Some of these places you feel like you need to push a secret brick where a trap door opens for you to wander in. Its a neat little bar with the great idea of a free jug of water to help balance out a big night of drinking. Hint: this is a great place to have some pre-drinks if your off to a gig at the Forum. A few last drinks there and it was time to call it a night.

Hailing a cab is always an interesting proposition. Half the lights are on, off or not working. Therefore I run the principle of hailing any cab that approaches. We encountered a gold digger cab driver. With ipod headphones in tow, he queried where we were going to. We mentioned our destination and he drove off; Obviously he thought he could better the eventual >$50 fare. Perhaps if we mentioned we needed to get to Alice Springs he would have picked us up... We hailed one down eventually and after some maniac driving in the middle of the road and a stop for a can of V (A sobering thought for us if the driver needs to be kept awake) we all made it back in one piece. The downer for the night was after I was dropped off he threw his can out of the window. Man I hate people that litter... Apart from that it was a great night...

50 Things

2006-10-11T23:36:00.000+10:00

50 boring, stupid rambling things about me. I can only muster 50... I guarantee the next post will be more interesting.... It has to be...

001 - I want to be taller. At 5-7 I can't see the stage at gigs and my friends are over 6 feet tall. And no I'm not wearing heels...
002 - I have 2 brothers both older.
003 - Everywhere I go I have to have music. I can't stand being on a train without a book or music
004 - I enjoy reading but don't do it enough because I have to drive to work now
005 - My first job was in a toy store
006 - I can't stand hoons and people who don't wave when I give way on the road (go out of my way)
007 - I have an ipod but I hate the white headphones
008 - I played the bagpipes in highschool
009 - I've also learnt the piano and recorder
010 - I work in IT
011 - I hate the stereotype that IT people all know how to 'fix' computers. I work with financial IT systems and not hardware... Eg if I want to put stuff into the financial general ledger via a file what do I have to do? (*spins propeller*)
012 - I'm 26 years old
013 - I hate and like being asked for ID. (I can count almost on 1 hand how many times that hasn't happened) It means I look young which is bad now, but will be good later I'm told
014 - My favourite beer is Hoegaarden
015 - I once stole a Hoegaarden glass
016 - When I'm drunk I tend to say the things that I'm thinking that I shouldn't say out loud (Is that confusing?)
017 - The most money I've found is $20
018 - The most money I've won gambling is ~$300
019 - I've bungy jumped and skydived twice
020 - I have a recurring nightmare that I've forgotten to submit a VCE assignment - I finished highschool 9 years ago
021 - I was on the front page of the local newspaper in 1984
022 - I only learnt how to ride a bike a year and a half ago
023 - The latest I've slept in to is 3.oopm
024 - The longest I've stayed up for is 25 hours
025 - I can't grow a mustache
026 - Likewise with a beard
027 - I've had my legs waxed for a dare
030 - I've never had my hair dyed
031 - I've only been overseas twice
032 - When I first worked I used to eat 'fish and chip shop' style hamburgers for breakfast
033 - I think Godzilla was better than ID4. But neither was any good.
034 - I hate waiting in queues and find old people are most likely to jump them
035 - I've learnt French, Italian and Chinese and can't remember much of any of the languages now
036 - I had braces as a kid
037 - I've been given a forced, free manicure
038 - The only cities outside of Victoria in Australia I've been to are Sydney and the Gold Coast
039 - I own 14 business shirts -My goal is to only iron once a month
040 - I've once eaten an entire chocolate teddy bear packet in one sitting
041 - I don't understand how George Bush gets elected, but am knocked over to know how he can be re-elected
042 - I've never watched a Hugh Grant movie from start to finish or watched the Titanic
043 - I'd rather deal with things than complain.
044 - I missed uni graduation with food poisoning
045 - I boycott places that provide poor service (Or fire employees that I fancied)
046 - I can't stand people with poor manners
047 - I only own 177 CDs
048 - I've had a broken arm and fractured elbow
049 - I've been involved in only 1 car accident -touch wood- a hub cap came off an oncoming car and cracked my windscreen from left to right, top, down
050 - I've never had the chicken pox

Current Affairs?

2006-10-01T23:02:00.000+10:00

As a kid, I watched the drivel known as commerical channel current affairs basically because it was the family tv. I don't really recall too much of it as I'd probably be waiting on Beverly Hills 90210 or whatever was cool back in the late 80's early 90's. It's funny to see the state of current affairs in this country at the 6.30 timeslot and how absolutely disgraceful and commercial it is. No wonder people have no idea what's going on locally or internationally when there's the constant stream of new weight loss cures or shonky tradesman stories going around. Its interesting that one week I'll be told by mum: 'Don't use the internet to do any online shopping they steal identities!', followed by the next week being advised to do all you buying on the internet because that's where the bargains are. Unfortunately my parents watch either of the 2 commercial current affairs programs, despite protests by their offspring on an equally constant frequency.

I decided to take a look on the websites of the respective shows to see what stories had been screened in recent times (basically because I couldn't stomach watching them for a week).

Here are the stories from the A Current Affair website:
-Why new mums go mad
-A weight loss role model
-Head start for baby
-Magnetic beauty
-Credit cards: is yours mean?
-Perils of online banking
-Rich kids: making money from a young age
-Bills, bills, bills: how to reduce them
-Women working their way up from home
-Looking for a sea change?
-Man shortage: where to find one
-Winter holiday specials
-Factory outlets: grab yourself a bargain
-The great grocery rip-off
-Kids lingerie incenses parents
-Bad-smelling bargains
-Fruit and vegies: making kids naughty?
-Fergie praises weight loss star
-Make-up tips from the experts

I'm no intellectual giant, but none of the above really is above the level of a National Enquirer story. Not to be outdone, Today Tonight had the following at their site:

-Kickboxing off the kilos
-Some muesli bars have no benefit
-The migrant test top 10
-Easy fixes for clothing problems
-Five steps to a healthy life
-The odds of gambling
-Tips to make a good career
-Sacked for being 'too fat'
-Testing new Australians
-Migrants forced to learn English
-Too fat for the catwalk
-Psychic problems
-Bottled water bonanza
-Is it a ghost?
-Microwave your flab goodbye
-Slimming down on a patch
-The truth about speed cameras
-Treatments for acne
-Cleaning your carpet
-Your rights: shopping returns
-Alternative pregnancies
-Easing pain
-Sleeping off the kilos
-Driving well for a free car
-Best of the bargain websites
-Online bargains: find the freebies
-Mortgage insurance cash backs
-Looking 10 years younger
-Saving money at the bowser
-Peeling away the years
-Rent a handbag

The best from the above have to be:
Microwave your flab goodbye
The latest overseas treatment aimed at trimming waistlines has arrived. It claims to be as easy as microwaving off those excess centimetres.

-I'm sure the next thing they'll plug is: 'Microwave off those pounds while cooking a roast for the family!'

Magnetic beauty
While women across Australia spend millions of dollars on creams or plastic surgery to improve their looks, a new product is claiming to remove wrinkles and lines just by applying gold-plated magnets to their skin.

-This can be used in conjunction with the 'wrinkle roller' which also doubles up to flatten any dough in the kitchen.

For starters I can't believe people watch these shows, and secondly I can't believe Neighbours is probably the most informative show on at 6.30 on the commercial networks... The 'reports' are recycled in regular intervals with different angles and the presenters are more suited to host 'Ripley's Believe it or Not'.

Please watch the 7.30 Report, Foreign Correspondent or listen to Hack on Triple J at 5.30

Lights, Wedding Proposals and Violins

2006-09-24T23:01:00.000+10:00

An interesting comment was made by a mate when I mentioned I went to the Something For Kate gig last Friday at the Forum: "It's not like they have music that rocks out" - Cues a gentle strumming of an imaginary guitar. It may be a pre-conceived idea of how their music is, which is a shame. To an extent they're pretty low key, with a bunch of albums and a solid fan base they've been able to become one of best Aussie bands going around.

I haven't frequented too many bands this year, but this one rates as my favourite for the year so far. A lot of this has to do with the venue and the atmosphere. We weren't the hardcore fans at the front, probably just closer than halfway down, but the Forum has excellent sound, an appreciative rockin' crowd and that all adds to the experience. The set comprised of a mix of old favourites with a significant cut from the current album. Taking a step back it is quite astonishing how many hits they've had over the years and they never tend to get old.

The setting had a slightly surprising wall of coloured lights behind the band which flickered throughout; A good addition to the atmosphere. The favourite for the night would have to be Deja Vu. It was fantastic hearing this one, with the excellent transition from the accompanying guitarist (sorry I don't know his name - not Paul or Stephanie...) switching to violin mid-song and sleamlessly hitting the last third of the song; giving me tingles down the spine. Clint never seems to leave anything out there when he performs, and this night was no exception. The amount of energy that guy pumps into his drums is amazing.

While I'd seen them earlier in the year, it was before they'd released they latest album, so it was great to hear new songs I'd been listening to, performed live and appreciating them. California, Cigarettes and Suitcases, Oh Kamikze, Transparanoia, A Fools History Pt. 1 and Statues are the ones I can remember from the gig with the highlight from the latest being Statues for me.

The earlier show this year had Paul's birthday cake. This night had a guy propose to his shocked girlfriend on stage, and the band playing a song in response to an email where a woman promised to marry their partner if it was played on the night. (I think she's commented on the SFK myspace page that she's completed her end of the deal.)

In the end it was great set, some fantastic 'sing-a-longs', and an excellent, loved Aussie band performing to an appreciative crowd. The band does everything it can to get its music out there; 7 odd cds and 1 dvd to pick up. All of which is great for fans always wanting more. Can't wait to see them again...

Only 3 weeks, 6 days etc etc

2006-09-19T20:06:00.000+10:00

After seeing Sarah Blasko at the Prince of Wales it really enhanced my love of her music. Her interpretation of Flame Trees just shows how fantastic music can be. The original rocking rendition by Cold Chisel and an equally brilliant cover which is even better live (from the soundtrack to Little Fish)... Apparently her new album is only a few weeks away according to a fan site, and alas I've been sucked in to get a 'limited' edition signed copy. $25 that I'm sure I'm not going to regret. Isn't amazing how myspace has taken off and launched careers and she's posted her video which can be seen here (Explain).

It's an interesting clip and is a great song.

Something For Kate

2006-09-10T22:03:00.000+10:00

Their name apparently was derived from something read on a napkin in a hotel that stuck. Or so I remember when the question was asked recently in a JB Hi-Fi instore earlier this year. I'm happy to say that I own and enjoy their albums since Beautiful Sharks. Desert Lights is their latest album since The Official Fiction (2003), which was what got me into SFK and consequently prompted me to purchase most of their previous albums also. There was a filler of B-sides and live performances released in 2004 which contained a favourite live cover performance of Ashes to Ashes.

Desert Lights is an interesting album. Listening to an interview on Triple J, apparently Paul Dempsey had writer's block when the band was in the US recording the new album in what was a fascinating insight on how songs are created and the effort it takes. In the interview they were awaiting on certain parts of songs for months and in some cases just a couple of words. Seeing them live for the first time earlier this year, I probably didn't appreciate the performance as much as I would now. They played a few songs from this album, and I really find it hard to get into a live song without previously knowing it. The gig was fantastic none the less with the highlight being the cover of 'Born to Run'. Fortunately I have tickets to a show coming up on the 22nd of September which I'm highly anticipating; Not only hearing songs I'm now familiar, but to get another chance to see the band live.

The favourite song is the current single Oh Kamikaze which I'm happy to say that I've got a video from a live performance; A fantastic opening guitar with some great bass . Overall the album is a little 'rockier' than the last and it contains some really good slower songs (This is the Life for Me, Impossible), some songs moving into surprising vocal heights (Statues, A Fool's History) and just great rock type ones (Transparanoia, California).

The apparent pain the band had in making this album in my mind has paid off and is a really satisfying listening experience. Fans I guess have confirmed this with the album debuting at number one on the ARIA chart. The current 'special edition' of the album has some live recordings of songs, with a personal favourite of Hawaiian Robots (Gotta love the guitars, especially the bass at the start). If only Stephanie Ashworth wasn't with Paul I'd have a shot. Yeah right in your dreams... Can't wait until the 22nd and should I double up on the 23rd at the Hi-Fi Bar???

Fort Minor

2006-09-07T20:14:00.000+10:00

I'm not a musical historian at all, and if you were to ask me all the members of my favourite band I'd struggle. I'm not fussed if bands chop and change members as long as the underlying music isn't butchered. But it is interesting seeing individuals decide to branch off on solo careers or side projects to help develop skills or take music to places where they otherwise couldn't. Fort Minor is the pet project of Mike Shinoda who hails from Linkin Park and it is an interesting turn from the 2 studio LP albums produced. I'll just get something straight. I don't like 90% of the rap/hiphop that's out there. Singing about how many 'ho's you get or the 'grillz' on your teeth are only surpassed by the accomanying video clip for the cringe factor.

The first thing that stands out on this album are the lyrics. There are some fantastic stories brought together with catchy loops and beats that really add to the feel of some of the songs.

Right Now
...Right now someone wishes they were you and I
Instead of second-guessing fatal thoughts of quiet suicide
But right now I'm staring out the window at a fiend
With holes in his arm and / holes in his jeans

...Yeah / right now somebody's sittin' in the darkness
Tryin' to figure how to put some heat in they apartment but
They got a little mattress / Little carpet
And they appreciate it 'cause some people on
a park bench

...Right now / it's somebody who ain't eat all week
That would kill / for the shit you through away in the street

A bit far removed from Grillz by Nelly:

...Rob the jewelry store and tell 'em make me a grill.
Dirrty, R&B.

...Piece simply symbolize success
I got da wrist wear and neck wear dats captivatin
But it's my smile dats got these on-lookers spectatin
My mouth piece simply certified a total package
Open up my mouth and you see mo carrots than a salad
My teeth are mind blowin givin everybody chillz
Call me George Foreman cuz I'm sellin everybody grillz

Ok, those lyrics are pretty funny and the song is a novalty but come on...

Probably the best song on the album is Kenji and I read somewhere when Mike played this song to some of his family members they wept after hearing it. With spoken words from an eldery woman and man during the song, it tells of some stories of Japanese Americans during WWII after Pearl Habour. Before, during and after being locked up in internment camps is covered and it portrays a pretty vivid picture of just some of the issues that these people faced just for being a certain nationality. The lyrics within the CD are printed on a background picture of Japanese Americans presumably from the time; providing an insight to the detail and thought given particularly to this song.

Other highlights from the album:
Cigarettes - Comparison between the rap industry and cigarettes
High Road - Story about making the album. Great use of a few piano cords throughout
Where'd You Go - About relationships and being apart

All in all its an excellent album that I'm happy to have added without hearing anything prior to the purchase. In this case I followed the artist because I knew of past projects. I believe Mike was across all parts of the album and it shows attention to detail in all aspects of the sound and polished final product. There are some fantastic examples of good rap -in my opinion- which is a fresh change from what's on the top 40 charts bringing up a generation of kids to, in short disrespect the opposite sex.

Martha Wainwright

2006-08-28T20:16:00.000+10:00

I found out recently that I missed out what would've been the perfect gig. Sarah Blasko was supporting Martha Wainwright in the states...

How did I come about learning about Martha? Well, I was reading an end of year wrap by Triple J DJs where they listed their favourite albums of the year. I was again looking for new music and found someone who had listened to similar albums as me that year. After reading a couple of sentences describing the album, I went along and visited her website. I listened to the first single 'When the Day is Short' and found myself purchasing the album.

This was an album that took a few listens to really get into. The songs tend to grow on you the more times you listen to them and the husky voice of Martha eventually gets you hooked. Unfortunately she's come and toured twice and I missed out on tickets. The first time I hadn't heard her album and the second unfortunately they were snapped up in a flash, and from all reports seeing her live is something not to be missed. I did catch her singing a duet with Dan Kelly on Rockwiz and I can see the appeal of this Canadian's live performance.

I'm not sure how to classify her music, but if I had to, I'd have to say she like PJ Harvey but less rocky. (If that makes any sense...) At times the sound is raw, but I believe this really gives the album an edge and earthy feel which is perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon or just chilling out. The interesting thing is, I'm not usually into excessive profanities in songs, but I must admit: Bloody Mother F**king A**hole is one of my favourite songs now. The first couple of times I listened to it, it didn't really appeal to me, but its just something about just an acoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics that makes it grow on you:

I will not pretend
I will not put on a smile
I will not say I'm all right for you
When all I wanted was to be good
To do everything in truth

Some of the other favourites from the album are: Far Away, G.P.T, Factory, These Flowers, This Life and When The Day Is Short. (A 16 song 'Special Edition' album also includes a song sung in French and a duet with brother Rufus... Dad is very talented also...). An excellent album to add to the collection. Definitely will check her out next time she tours...

Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set

2006-08-22T19:55:00.000+10:00

Ok. I've listened to their latest -What Was Left- for some months now on and off. Its a strange thing I have with CDs. If I find something I really like, I'll listen to it non-stop for weeks which shows with a skewed 'no. times played' listing on my ipod. At the moment its Something for Kate which I'll post my thoughts on later, but I'll start off with What Was Left.

I find it hard finding new artists to listen to. It usually takes me a couple of listens of the album to get a feel and appreciation. I can't exactly remember how exactly I got into this CD. I hadn't read anything extensive on the album, and they don't get radio play when I'm listening so I didn't have any pre-conceived ideas on the album. I think I remember seeing an interview and they just gave off a vibe that hit a cord with me. In anycase I trundled into JB and saw their latest album on the shelf and pretty much with nothing more to go on and looking for new music, I took a chance on the album.

I've gone through about 3 phases with this album.
1) Initial listen - Picking out the standout songs on the album based on catchy lyrics and melodies.
2) After the Corner Hotel gig July 8 - A really great gig, well supported by Dan Kelly. I had a greater appreciation of story telling and lyrics of the songs. (The gig was only spoilt by filler spaceman act... poor guy)
3) Finally - being able to really listen to the songs and hear more of the subtle accompanying instruments

Side note: I'm really surprised how much difference a good video clip makes (Little Self Centred Queen). As stupid as it sounds, I seem to like a song more after I've seen a video clip that either tells the story or just fits the song's mood. (dont think 'bling', scantily clad women or souped up 'rides') .

I've listened on and off to the album for quite sometime since late last year. It has a fantastic mix of songs where some are catchy and addictive from the outset (The Thing About Grief), while others have greater depth and emotional stories to tell (When I Was Five).
The standout songs in my book are:
-Lips Like Oranges, Divorcee By 23, When I Was Five, Little Self Centred Queen and Just Might Do
But hey I like the whole album, but that's just me...(I've got their 1st (Autumn Bone) now, so I'll get into that now...)

Travelling to NZ (Part 2)

2006-08-16T20:02:00.000+10:00

Day 4 (Queenstown, Te Anau)
5-4-3-2-1 Bungy! Note to anyone wanting to do a bungy jump. Go first... Watching people jump, almost chicken out, peer over the edge makes YOU second guess your leap head first into rocks and shallow water. Also I didn't eat or drink anything that morning, based on the thinking that it ain't coming out if it ain't gone down. The first stop for the day was the Kawarau Bridge jump:- The original bungy in NZ at 43 metres high.

After disembarking the bus and descending down to the information desk I must say the heart started to pump. At the base of the staircase, you can see the jumping platform, along with the viewing deck -which was pretty much used to laugh at people hesitating to jump. (Not exactly what you want to hear while creeping towards the edge, attached by some elastic and a towel to your ankles). Each person gets weighed, which is scribbled on your hand and then gets used by the guys at hooking you up as to the weight they add on. Somehow, despite being about 8th in line to be weighed, I managed to be the first up on the platform. Not out of choice, but perhaps just being oblivious to the slow paces of the people around me.

Some friendly banter ensued with the safety guys, which I remember little of. Word of advice: -Don't mention anything about sheep, accents and keep abreast of the current sporting events. Fortunately the All Blacks won the night before, so there didn't appear to be any secret seething towards any Aussies. You don't want to antagonize anyone involved ensuring your life is safe... You then get the option of going dry, touching the water or getting shoulders dunked. While choosing to get dunked, unfortunately after some examination of the equipment I was informed that it was unlikely that I'd be heavy enough because it was a new bungy cord. Fortunately it didn't dawn on me at the time as to why they replaced the OLD cord!

From there, you inch your way towards the edge penguin style, wave to the crowd egging you on from the viewing platform, smile for the camera and wait for the countdown. Ironically I had a group of Japanese tourists on the sidelines which appeared lifted out of any number of films looking for stereotypical tourist extras (Think Crocodile Dundee). Hint: Don't look down before you jump... and just go. (I missed touching the water by a good couple of metres...)

Its a blur to tell you the truth, but a great rush diving head first 40 odd metres. Then, much like a production line, photos, movies are produced and ready for viewing once you make it back up. Its a slick operation and I'd doubt many people would leave without some sort of memorabilia. (I got all photos, dvds, a pin and patch...) Then, on a whim, we decided to tackle the Nevis...All 134 metres.

I must say all the different activities are really well organised and a small bus ferried us up to the next location which was just as thrilling, ricketing on the side of a mountain on a one way dirt track. This bungy area is suspended on a cable car inbetween a mountain and plateau where a small building is stationed to process videos etc. There are some major things different with this jump aside from it being more than 90 metres higher than the last. 1) Because its suspended on a cable car, you don't really have an option BUT to look down. 2) This was jumped in weight order, so I had to wait a good 1/2 hour before jumping... Combining these factors, nervous reactions begin:- In my case I scratch my head...incessantly. Again you're strapped up, a picture's taken and you inch your way up to the edge. "Look out at the mountain ahead and dive out like you're at a swimming pool" I'm told... 5-4-3-2-1 and I'm off the edge. Fortunately my pants stayed their natural brown colour and an excited rush fills you as it sinks in as to exactly you're doing. It's a shame it's over so quickly, but an experience like no other. The picture left doesn't really give a sense of exactly how high 134 metre is. Believe me it's a long way down and the rush is amazing!

From the dizzying highs to being back in the trusty Corolla for some more driving. This time out to Te Anau. Straight line driving can be monotonous, but with some of the scenic backdrops we drove by, time flew by faster, but the constant mix from the ipod didn't harm the journey either.

Arriving in Te Anau, we were unfortunately informed that a cave glow worm tour was booked solid for that night. Who would've expected that looking at worms would be that popular? We headed out to 'The Ranch' for some local food, where I sample more of NZ's finest beers (Steinlager -which was a standout, Lion Red and Export Gold.) Tuckered out from an eventful day and I dosed off watching Batman Begins on cable...

Day 5 (Milford Sound, Queenstown)
An early morning start once again and it was off to Milford Sound for a scenic cruise out to the mouth of the Tasman Sea. Light rain peppered the drive and it eased as we began our cruise, which turned out to be perfect as it allowed waterfalls to form throughout.

Once back on dry land it was a long drive back through Te Anau and back through to Queenstown.

Once back in Queenstown, we stopped off at a restaurant called Fatz Cat. Ironically, I ordered lamb in the Italian restaurant and was served by an Aussie. A couple more Steinlagers later and we were on our way to see what else was in town. There are 2 casinos in town, and I managed to get $50 up on the blackjack table killing time before we headed into a very touristy attraction: the Ice Bar. With a not-so-subtle partner in Absolut Vodka ($25 entry for 1/2 an hour including 1 drink) we put our 'Absolut' jackets we squeezed into what appeared to be a old meat freezer. The sculptures were well done and, hey, where else can you drink out of a disposable ice glass?

Day 6 (Queenstown, Twizel)
Still time for some more fun at Queenstown. After some much needed sleep it was off in another bus on a dirt track to the Canyon Swing (Pretty much the same as a bungy, but you can leave the platform in any creative way and have the harness attached to your waist instead.) Jump styles vary in 'scariness' where I opted for the pin drop which was equal highest on their rating system. (looking down, hands behind the back) Honestly after the Nevis this seemed quite tame, (60m freefall) however it still got the heart pumping with many others opting for varied and repeat 'swings' such as the tumbling chair. Where do these nuts come up with these crazy ideas?

What's left to do? Next on the agenda was the Shotover Jet which is a custom built jet boat that cruises around at high speeds. Walking into information area, the walls are littered with both A and B grade celebrities that have completed the ride. What's excellent again is the detailed knowledge of the people involved on the history and environment of their surrounds. (I guess that's expected, but in any case some of the facts were impressive...) The boats only need 6 inches of water to operate and you can hear the rocks hit the bottom of the boat as you roar through the narrow passes which are specifically reserved for these boats. Jagged rocks are literally close enough to touch, and the ease in which the drivers navigate through is amazing. I don't care how many times you do something, to get within a couple of hands of a wall in a boat is impressive, all the while the boat's on-board system beeps intermittently to warn of proximity.

360 degree spins occur without warning towards the end, which finishes in being wet and extremely satisfied. Unfortunately it was then time to say goodbye to Queenstown and to head off to Twizel.

Upon arrival, to fill in time, we ventured out to the local golf course which was closed. Fortunately with no-one around, we were able to throw our hand at some ice golf with mixed success. Ending another busy day were more than a few of NZ's finest ales.

Day 7 (Christchurch, Hanmer Springs)
Getting back to Christchurch was a pretty boring drive, and it probably didn't help that we left at 5am to try and get a full day there... We arrived, and found that nothing satisfies more than a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and anything else detrimental to the heart. Without a plan for the day, we decided to venture out to a cookie factory 'Maker of the world's biggest cookie' for some sustenance while stopping off at wineries for some taste testing. Finally with hours to kill we decided to venture out to Hanmer Springs, which was a little town a bit out of Christchurch and try our hand out at quad biking. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of the trip, driving through cow patties these little machines packed a lot of punch. Also, as a kid, you'd always want to ride your bike or run through puddles and mud, and in these little babies it was an experience that took you back to those carefree days.

The last night ended a 'wee bit' muddy and with a satisfying dinner at the Lobster Club. Damn lobster's nice, but it just doesn't fill you up.... We decided to plow through to the next morning as sleeping seemed pointless when we had to get to the airport by 4am. I wandered the streets aimlessly for a couple of hours, got lost a few times and accidently did some loops around the city before navigating it back to the hotel. I knew I should've used the M&Ms to track my steps... I stayed awake long enough to see the demonstration of where the exits were on the plane before dozing and probably snoring through to the dawn of day 8 and home...

Travelling to NZ

2006-08-15T20:39:00.000+10:00

Ok. I've decided to put the experience of a recent trip with my cousin to NZ down on the blog. It was a quick 8 day trip, starting off at Christchurch, driving around South Island stopping off at Fox Glacier, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound and Twizel.

Day 1 (Melbourne -> Christchurch)
Touching down into Christchurch we flew over some glorious mountains. Fortunately there were no issues with carrying on cameras onto planes when we were travelling. Seriously, has society gotten so nuts that soon we'll only be able to board a plane in our undies? This was the view from the plane. How magnificant is that skyline and it just keeps going out of sight. The only problem with this one is the nice dots on the windows. Damn thumb smudges....

There were no issues getting through customs, just tight without going over the top. Just reminds me of a line from Seinfeld on x-rays at the airport: "What's that a hairdryer with a scope on it? And a bowling ball with a candle on it? Yeah just move it along"

We hired a car which ended up costing around $500AUD for the 8 days. I now have a renewed respect for the Corolla. Its a solid A to B car. Great just to give some freedom to go to whereever we wanted whenever, instead of being stuck on a Contiki bus with women our age looking for fun... (Why did we get a car again?). On the way to Fox Glacier we stopped off at Springfield. Damn I wish I got a pic of me next to a Springfield sign. (I can hear people saying: You Idiot!) Very small town but we stopped off for a steak pie. Damn that was good... Later that night after about 3 hours of driving we made it Fox Glacier, whilst on the way we picked up some bananas. Not because we wanted them, but we felt we had a duty to buy them at $1.30 a kilo instead of the $12+ we were paying back home. (I think we had 2 left at the end of the trip - It just didn't feel right eating them!) Freezing our balls off and driving through what looked like Santa's workshop town, we made it to a little Holiday Park to check in.

Day 2 (Fox Glacier - Glacier Walk)

Fox Glacier is purely a tourist village (Not big enough for a town I don't think). There's nothing more than a couple of restaurants, hotels/motels and 1 or 2 bars. Without a steady stream of tourists I think this place would not exist. But after the visit, I would recommend this place to anyone.
A full day's trek up to the glacier via the side of the mountain was an awesome experience. Knowing that there are only a few of these magnificant wonders of nature that exist in the world made it even more special. Matt, the guide, was great - knowledgeable about the glacier, the history and was a great down-to-earth bloke. They have to go up everyday to carve out the man made steps. Guys were there when we began our trek and still there when we finished chipping out the steps for the next day. That's how they get their 'popeye' arms.

One goal I had on this trip was to experience as many beers NZ had to offer. Dinner was at a saloon type restaurant and I sampled some Speights and Export Gold. Both very nice beers... Perhaps unwisely, we decided to checkout the glow worms that was a short trek down the road. As stupid as this sounds, have you ever walked in the bush at night, where there's no noise, no stars or city lights? I almost literally shat my pants. Those days of Stephen King's IT just for childhood trauma and the Blair Witch Project popped into my mind and I made sure I kept blathering to make sure my cuz knew I was still behind him... He let me know afterwards that if I was taken by the axe wielding maniac, he would have done the noble thing and run off to save his own life. Yeah I think I'd do the same...

Day 3 (Skydive @ Fox Glacier, Monster Bus, Queenstown)

I did a skydive in Nagambie in Victoria. That was great, but it doesn't compare to this. The helmet or condom hat was "Wearing me for protection" as Seinfeld would say.

You wish you could just float around in the sky for 20 minutes just to soak up the views, but before you know it you're on the ground and you've got to think of some remark to say to the camera like "Ridgy Didge!" or "Shitscared Micky!" - I don't know what to say!

The clouds rolled in shortly after our feet were firmly on the ground. Perfect timing... Off into the car to the next place...The best scenery was at Lake Wanka but unfortunately it was only a passing visit.

On the way to Queenstown, we stopped off to ride in a monster bus. Not as exciting as it sounds as the maximum speed of the beast was 30 miles/hr. Anyway that was fun in anycase. What would have been better would have been to drive through on the quadbikes, but we got that opportunity later...

We made it to Queenstown. What a place! People everywhere, heaps of activities to do and places to see.

To be continued...

First Post

2006-08-07T16:52:00.001+10:00

Ok, I haven't been into the whole blogging of stuff, but let's see how this goes...