Am I a has-been before I’ve even been a been? One of the kids at the school: “You used to be on TV!” Ahem. Yeah kid. Once or twice. … Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson on the return of (and apparent changes to) the Daleks: “If ever you’ve laughed at them, prepare to have the ... [More]
Yesterday I took the day off to organise my taxes. Apart from the long trip down to see the accountant (out in the wilds of suburbia), it was also worthy of a day off because of the time required to find all the little bits of paper involved. Having found them all, it slowly dawned ... [More]
The whole New Year’s Eve debacle saga that I wrote about a few months ago came bubbling back up to the surface today. The trains will run all night, as well as more frequently straight after the fireworks. Herald Sun: Trains all night on New Year’s Eve The Age: Public transport plan to avert New ... [More]
Ah the joys of real estate listings. It’s always the stuff they don’t mention that catches you out. Here’s a few samples I’ve encountered recently: A delightful 1950s brick four bedroom family home in a quiet cul de sac location so close to Chadstone Shopping Centre, Phoenix Park & the Malvern Valley Golf Course. — ... [More]
Here is my TV, and assorted other home entertainment paraphenalia. Post a picture of your TV etc… Link in the Trackbacks or comments. As usual, move your mouse over the picture for descriptions of various bits (note Firefox may abbreviate. Apparently you can fix it with this extension if you turn multi-line tooltips on.) Past ... [More]
At lunchtime I was at Collins Place waiting for somebody to go to a meeting, when I saw a couple of people walking past me. The man looked familiar. It was Michael Palin. He wasn’t doing a silly walk, and he didn’t appear to be filming an expedition up Collins Street. I didn’t gush over, ... [More]
I got some new shoes last week. I’m terrible at buying shoes, I hate buying shoes, I can’t choose shoes. Add to this some level of anxiety about my smelly, sweaty feet. I knew I needed shoes, and I knew I’d be going shoe shopping after work, so what did I do? I took an ... [More]
It was one of those almost-Vasectomy-on-the-morrow-inspiring evenings when one’s energy is sapped after facing too many hurdles, too many paternal challenges. Specifically, the regression of junior progeny to a point that I thought we’d all got past many years ago. I thought that was all over, gone, passed, accepted, signed-off. I thought I would never ... [More]
I stood there, facing my eight-legged adversary. It was still, near the top of the fly-wire door. I was armed with my broom. Wait for it… wait for it.. whack! The door rattled as the broom hit the spider, which took cover under the metal and curled into a tiny ball. It wasn’t a humungous ... [More]
Collateral: A very simple premise, but very well (if you’ll pardon the pun) executed. Max, a cab driver in LA starts off his night shift relaxed. Before long he picks up a passenger, Vincent, and gets caught up in a world he’d rather not be caught up in. Along the way you learn a lot ... [More]
Here is my bed. Yes, this shot was staged. Two year-old queen size bed. The bedlinen is about the same age, and most would probably say the doona cover is a pretty typical blokey choice. Second pillow generally thrown off the bed when sleeping, more used for propping-up to read the paper on the weekends. ... [More]
Last weekend I was plonked in front of the telly, and a Clearasil commercial came on. Some teenage girl was moaning about pimples and extolling the virtues of Clearasil, and how wonderful it was for clearing them up. The problem? She didn’t have any. Not that I could see. Granted my eyesight may not be ... [More]
A busker with extraordinarily big reflective sunglasses and reminding me a little bit of Tim Rogers was on the train the other morning, singing Folsom Prison Blues. Ah, love a bit of Johnny Cash in the morning, even if he couldn’t quite do the deep notes. I’m not sure what the next song was, but ... [More]
Having claimed incorrectlythe other day that telegrams have vanished off the face of the planet, it was with some surprise that I got home yesterday afternoon to find one in the mailbox.
When driving my car, I’m now more informed about the world around me than I’ve ever been. Because my car radio can’t get FM anymore. So I’m on the talk stations… Radio National, 3LO (aka ABC Melbourne) and NewsRadio. Byebye PBS and TripleJ, unfortunately. NewsRadio in particular has been unexpectedly interesting. It’s probably deadly dull ... [More]
Just wondering, now that telegrams have been phased out, what does the Queen send you now when you turn 100? An SMS? Something along the lines of: Congrats 2u Re 100 b’day. Rgds E2R Σ:-)