Categories
Photos

Winter’s last gasp?

Elizabeth Street last night about 6:30. Pedestrians with their umbrellas at the ready. A gap in the rain, but still threatening. Taxis lined up outside Melbourne Central offering a comfortable but pricey way home. Hopefully winter’s last gasp. (Remember that Del Amitri song… “every third car is a cab”. Thankfully things aren’t quite so bleak  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Remember when…

Remember when John Safran placed a fatwa on Rove? Last night Rove’s offices burnt down. I wonder if John just choked on his cornflakes. (For those who didn’t see the segment, the evidence was clearly stated as faked. Although we saw the fatwa declared, by the end of the segment it was shown being withdrawn  ... [More]

Categories
Culture Melbourne transport

Good news, bad news

The marks on the road were a rather obvious reminder of last night’s apparently spectacular tram mishap outside Glenhuntly Station. Two scores in the road, about ooh 4 foot 8 and a half inches apart, veering away from the tracks at the catch points, across most of the railway crossing, then back onto the tracks.  ... [More]

Categories
Ranting

Ricky?

Dear Mr Wrong Number Man, My name is Daniel Bowen. I said as much when I answered the phone. My name is not Ricky Bowden. Never has been. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Good luck in dialling the right number next time.

Categories
Consumerism Home life

How I didn’t buy a house

In order to tell you the weekend’s real estate story, it is necessary to talk about money, and large amounts of it. I earn money. By some people’s standards, it’s a big stack, way more than one might think I deserve for sitting at a keyboard all day, but that’s the way it is, and  ... [More]

Categories
Geek Net

Here is my latest side-project

In leui of a photo today, here is my latest side-project, a collaboration between myself and a few friends…

Categories
Film Food'n'drink TV

Quickies

Madam Fang. A lovely expensive meal on Friday for our anniversary, and as what might have been the last chance to splurge before I got hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt the next day when buying a house (it didn’t happen — more about that later). The atmosphere was lovely, the service was excellent,  ... [More]

Categories
Friends and loved ones

Anniversary

I woke up early today. Not sure why. Heard the newspaper hit the driveway at 5:52am. Will try and get back to sleep in a minute. … How does one measure an anniversary? From the first time you meet? The first date? The first kiss? The first time… you walk her dog together? The first  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism

Bags

I’m now fully equipped with cloth supermarket bags, and indeed have been upgrading to the new improved green ones, which keep their shape when the checkout chick/bloke plonks them down to start packing, making everything faster than fiddling with the soft cloth ones. But my use of cloth supermarket bags has been so wildly successful  ... [More]

Categories
music

(Almost) Crapfree

I’ve listened to a lot of crap music in my time, some self-inflicted, some through no choice of my own. Loud walkmans, car radios, in shops, hold music, public spaces… it can come from anywhere. The other night reading Kathryn’s blog I read an entry where she mentioned Bon Jovi. I left an off-the-cuff jokey  ... [More]

Categories
Food'n'drink

The chocolate smear

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from a decade of nibbling chocolate at my desk, it’s that it can be a messy business. You chomp into the bar and depending on consistency, chocolate splinters can go flying. Some might land on the desk itself, some might embed themselves into the gaps in the keyboard, and  ... [More]

Categories
Film music

Metallica: Some kind of monster

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of their new album. But not just the usual sitting in a studio, bashing power chords kind of footage — this was a warts’n’all look at the group dynamics involved. The arguments, walk-outs, the laughs, the group therapy sessions, the bits where they  ... [More]