So we're moving.
From Beaumaris which we've loved, but it's time to move on - right into the city.
I have to say we totally enjoyed being in Bowie. It's a fabulous spot, the big spaces, the easy pace, the beach and great friends.
We'll miss our house. This most incredible space has been home (and more) for several years, but we're not ready for the laid-back lifestyle (just yet). And we won't miss the commute several times a day. We will miss Malt the café, Rickets Point, The heath at Long Hollow, Banksia & Macdonald Reserve, the breathtaking beauty of bayside Beach Road, the proximity to the Concourse and a lot more.... - but the best thing is we can get here anytime in half an hour. And, we will be back regularly to visit.
We will be just where we've always wanted to be - in Albert Park. Close to the theaters, the shows, the museums, the galleries, the cafés, the easy transport, the jazz clubs, the foodie spots, the nightlife.... that buzz!
Our new address is: 275 Montague Street, Albert Park, Vic 3206. It's a Victorian, much smaller than where we are now, but the location makes up for it all. I mean we've got a park (St. Vincent Garden) just 100 metres away, and I also found a garage to rent for my Porsche (the family wheels will stay out on the road, but that's city living) - and transport by tram is a hop away. We're ready for it... See you there.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Backwards
In my next life I want to live backwards.
You start out dead and get that out of the way.
Then you wake up in an old people's home
feeling better every day.
You get kicked out for being too healthy,
go collect your pension, and then when you start work,
you get a gold watch and a party on your first day.
You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.
You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous,
then you are ready for high school.
You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play.
You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born.
And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap,larger quarters every day - and then Voila!
You finish off as an orgasm!
I rest my case.
.......Woody Allen
You start out dead and get that out of the way.
Then you wake up in an old people's home
feeling better every day.
You get kicked out for being too healthy,
go collect your pension, and then when you start work,
you get a gold watch and a party on your first day.
You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.
You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous,
then you are ready for high school.
You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play.
You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born.
And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap,larger quarters every day - and then Voila!
You finish off as an orgasm!
I rest my case.
.......Woody Allen
Sunday, August 23, 2009
350.org
I'll be in Sydney on October 23rd for the 350° event. I'll be filming and working with Annamaria Talas on the acquisition and editing. It's a great reason to be. Tune in and DON'T drop out..... Maybe I'll get Mo & the girls to join, but we've also got Adrian & Rebekka Koch with their kids visiting. We'll squeeze it all in, somehow. Dharamshala Baptista springs to mind. (Translation: dharamshala is a dormitory, travellers abode and a rest-stop home for ~usually~ monks and devotees!)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Foot, feet, whatever....
'A second leg has been sighted in waters off the Mornington Peninsula following the discovery of a woman's leg on a Phillip Island beach'. - So goes the writeup on the local rag The Age. If it weren't so sick and twisted, I would laugh out loud. 'Feet take a walk' springs to mind. This grisly stuff makes me wonder where the rest of her is. I mean really! Dismemberment? Shark attack? Gangland hi jinks? I have to say limbs, appendages, digits and all that should absolutely stay together. Nuff said.....
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Habla en es Espanol?
Just by chance, the other night I caught one of my favorite movies - 'Carmen' by Carlos Saura, one of my favorite directors. It's just sheer visual thrill, and storytelling in it's finest form. Don't know what it is, but I have to say that of the top most favorite directors of all time, 5 of them are Spanish - Luis Buñuel, Carlos Saura, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro & Pedro Almodóvar Caballero. I mean that's Five! Fuckadoodledoo. Hmmmm, gotta give that some thought. It IS all about storytelling, and I am a slave to that... Not always neat and tidy and pretty and all that - but every one of their films are powerful, gritty, painfully intense and sheer pleasure. ( I very briefly met Buñuel in Mexico City in '74, he was quite deaf, living in a spartan, hermetic setting - refusing to communicate and very distant, but it left an impression). After that, I remember frequenting a bar/restaurant near Zona Rosa and Pederegal de San Angel called 'Maison del Perro Andaluz', after his famed surreal/dadaist movie 'El Perro Andaluz' - The Andalusian Dog. I think I'm getting wound up for my own filmic journey...
Monday, August 10, 2009
Been awhile
It's been ages since I last wrote. That's probably because a lot's been happening - life, work and the usual.... Oh, I've also been updating my Flickr account (somewhat), but even that needs tending. As well as the 140 character spin, which can be useful at times....
I told myself I just gotta get back. Not only does this provide me with a sense of order (everything else I do is controlled casual dis-order!), it also allows me to create a kind of chronology of events, a visual timeline, and my very selection of images develops a taxonomy of priorities and importance. In my life anyway. Huh? I said that? So here goes, I WILL start picking up from earlier and post those past images first (so that I can still maintain some semblance of order), and keep at it till I am somewhat up to date. That's the intention anyway.
Oh, and we ARE moving home. Closer to the city. I mean right in there where the action is, and the cafés are, and the shows, and the theatres, and the movies, and the museums, and the funky lane-ways, and where the wild, strange and sometimes bizarre folk tend to gravitate. Yup, I'm the enemy of 'normal' and I AM feeling good about this. Besides we will be getting out to the outskirts and country trips, especially with Mara & Tia now active sailors and every weekend at the Sandringham Yacht Club.... Bit of both, and no more long commutes, and the ol Porsche foe fun countryside trips and pleasure. Yesss indeedy.
I told myself I just gotta get back. Not only does this provide me with a sense of order (everything else I do is controlled casual dis-order!), it also allows me to create a kind of chronology of events, a visual timeline, and my very selection of images develops a taxonomy of priorities and importance. In my life anyway. Huh? I said that? So here goes, I WILL start picking up from earlier and post those past images first (so that I can still maintain some semblance of order), and keep at it till I am somewhat up to date. That's the intention anyway.
Oh, and we ARE moving home. Closer to the city. I mean right in there where the action is, and the cafés are, and the shows, and the theatres, and the movies, and the museums, and the funky lane-ways, and where the wild, strange and sometimes bizarre folk tend to gravitate. Yup, I'm the enemy of 'normal' and I AM feeling good about this. Besides we will be getting out to the outskirts and country trips, especially with Mara & Tia now active sailors and every weekend at the Sandringham Yacht Club.... Bit of both, and no more long commutes, and the ol Porsche foe fun countryside trips and pleasure. Yesss indeedy.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A coffee-styled Balinese Dinner at St. Ali
OK so this was another surprise evening at St. Ali. The brilliant chef - Ben Cooper ex-Long Grain, put on a real performance. Mo and I turned up, we didn't know what to expect. The usual ambience that's so easy and comfortable to slide into, hang on - it looks like a lab experiment is underway! Nope, it's Toshi Yuki Ishiwata, grand master of the siphon. (A siphon! Isn't that found in a toilet?). With an array of wild bubbling glass tubes, crucibles, back lit by amber lights (heating lamp) and an oh so complex, deft mad-scientist inspired performance, Toshi (who doesn't, or rather isn't inclined towards conversation) delivers some smooth, light, airy coffee. Voilá siphon. The video clip - Toshi + test-tubes - is here below.
We were seated around several shared large tables scattered about, Salvatore was as effusive and welcoming as ever. That chap has advanced, finely tuned people skills.
I kept dashing over to the kitchen to see Ben and his team crank out his magic. It smelt wonderful. The kitchen clip is here below.
Salvatore, behind the scenes, literally....
St. Ali's chef, Ben Cooper
Kris, our maitre de, suggessted a light, fruity Piñot Gris from New Zealand - I can only remember it's name sounded like you're clearing your throat. Must be a Maori thing.
This was the Menu for that evening:
- Tumeric Caramel Fricasee of egg (how's that, Ben?)
- Coconut soup of pumpkin and almonds with bean sprouts and chili
- Salad of crisp Asian vegetables with sweet vinegar and grilled squid
- chicken sate with peanut sauce and coconut rice
- Balinese style curry with young broccoli, salmon and dried shrimp dumpling
- twice cooked tumeric spiced pork belly
- roast duck with chili and coffee sambal wrapped in banana leaf
- babnana fritters with caramel and vanilla sugar
Of course, we had coffee - selected from Bali & Sumatra, and designed to complement our courses.
Iced siphon coffee
Bali Kintamani
Sumatra Blue Batak
Java Affogato
We had a few couples sharing our table, here are some of them...
We were seated around several shared large tables scattered about, Salvatore was as effusive and welcoming as ever. That chap has advanced, finely tuned people skills.
I kept dashing over to the kitchen to see Ben and his team crank out his magic. It smelt wonderful. The kitchen clip is here below.
Salvatore, behind the scenes, literally....
St. Ali's chef, Ben Cooper
Kris, our maitre de, suggessted a light, fruity Piñot Gris from New Zealand - I can only remember it's name sounded like you're clearing your throat. Must be a Maori thing.
This was the Menu for that evening:
- Tumeric Caramel Fricasee of egg (how's that, Ben?)
- Coconut soup of pumpkin and almonds with bean sprouts and chili
- Salad of crisp Asian vegetables with sweet vinegar and grilled squid
- chicken sate with peanut sauce and coconut rice
- Balinese style curry with young broccoli, salmon and dried shrimp dumpling
- twice cooked tumeric spiced pork belly
- roast duck with chili and coffee sambal wrapped in banana leaf
- babnana fritters with caramel and vanilla sugar
Of course, we had coffee - selected from Bali & Sumatra, and designed to complement our courses.
Iced siphon coffee
Bali Kintamani
Sumatra Blue Batak
Java Affogato
We had a few couples sharing our table, here are some of them...
Welcome, Jemma...
Ann & Peter have a gorgeous little girl - finally! We're happy for you, and your wonderful package... Welcome Jemma.
Here's my little girl, Tia - all of 9, looking so grown up with Jemma.
And Mo with Jemma...
Here's my little girl, Tia - all of 9, looking so grown up with Jemma.
And Mo with Jemma...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
An Inner-City prowl with the 'Kommandante of Kool Haunts' - Kapil
An impromptu stopover at the Old Town Hall, and we had a chance to drop in on a concert - a free organ performance by some Russian organist performing Bach. The organ was this huge, entire rear wall covering unit, and had that large rounded sound. The average age of the audience was about 150! We didn't stay too long....... The town hall is a magnificent space, and curiously, I noticed that the large tubular handrails on the way up were brass on the left, and copper on the right! I tried to think of a reason for that, bt couldn't come up with any logical explanation, just the architect's whim?
Pierre at the Belgian Waffle.
I recommend the absolutely perfect ham & cheese baguette. They call it the Parisienne. Ooh La La. Plus this bizarre postcard tacked up on a shelf. The music playing was by 'Hot Chips'. Never heard of them, great music though.
We stopped for coffee at a well-known joint called Café Mediterraneum. It was in a great old building called Manchester Unity International Order of Oddfellows. MUIOO. Oddfellows Indeed!
A wrapup to the day with this warm fade out, view from Beaumaris/Black Rock.
Pierre at the Belgian Waffle.
I recommend the absolutely perfect ham & cheese baguette. They call it the Parisienne. Ooh La La. Plus this bizarre postcard tacked up on a shelf. The music playing was by 'Hot Chips'. Never heard of them, great music though.
We stopped for coffee at a well-known joint called Café Mediterraneum. It was in a great old building called Manchester Unity International Order of Oddfellows. MUIOO. Oddfellows Indeed!
A wrapup to the day with this warm fade out, view from Beaumaris/Black Rock.
Trek Fuel 9.8
I thought I'd put up these images of my bike. I ride practically every day, about 30 km. There IS a bond you build up with a pure mechanical device. I do love it. Mechanical advantage via gears; and a person on a bike is more efficient than geese migrating! (Measured in BTU's - British Thermal Units), whatever, it's my way of keeping fit.
Images from downtown...
This was one of the books I was researching from for the coffee doco - at the State library. Published in 1922, it's an absolutely unbelievable piece of work, and some of the information chronicles the story of the beverage we take for granted...
Another after-school sailing session
(That day there were literally thousands of jelly-fish like this one. One of the older, seasoned sailors told me that was an indication of a 'healthy bay'. Not so frickin' healthy mate, if you capsize and land thrashing around with those squishy bastards!)
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