New Essendon Coach

The Essendon Football Club announced today that former great James Hird will be the new coach of the club. He replaces Matthew Knights, who was fired a few weeks ago after what was possibly the club's worst season in 40 years. While Hird has no AFL coaching experience, he will help reunite the various factions in the club and shore up the fan base that has been unhappy over this past season. Hirdy will have a lot of work to do to bring the club back to its former glory, but we have a good list of young players who will only get better in the coming years. And with a four year contract, hopefully the club and the board will be patient and give him time to improve the team.

Hipsters are the new Emos

A couple funny videos have popped up recently mocking indie hipsters, which must mean that hipsters have become the new emos. First up is a UK one called "Being a Dickhead's Cool" by The Grand Spectacular.


And not to be left out, Melbourne comedian The Bedroom Philosopher (aka Justin Heazelwood) has the song "Northcote (So Hungover)" from his album Songs from the 86 Tram.

Tim Burton: The Exhibition

After work Clinton and I headed down to ACMI in Fed Square to see Tim Burton: The Exhibition. It charts works from his early years growing up in Burbank through to the movie Alice in Wonderland. Here's the blurb for the show:

Curated in direct collaboration with Burton, the exhibition brings together over 700 works, including paintings, drawings, puppets, costumes, storyboards and film. Discover the elements of gothic fantasy, dark humour and motifs that characterise Burton's work as director, concept artist, illustrator and photographer.

It amazing how much of his artistic style was already developed from an early age. I had no idea he had a background as an animator, even working for Disney out of art school. There were costumes, artifacts, storyboards and clips from his films, as well as some sculptures he has done. One of my favorite things in the exhibition though was his 1982 film Vincent.


If you are in Melbourne, the exhibition is on until October 10th.

Australia Finally has a Prime Minister

Julia Gillard was officially sworn in today by Governor-General Quentin Bryce as Australia's first elected female Prime Minister. The federal election took place on August 21st but neither Labor nor the Coalition got the required 76 seats in the House of Representatives to form government. As a result, Australia had its first hung parliament since 1940. Since both parties were stuck on 72 seats, it all came down to which party the six elected Independent and Green MPs would side with to get them over the line. After 17 days the final 3 Independent MPs announced their preferences, and Labor got the two final seats that they needed to form a minority government. It will be interesting to see how Gillard holds together this bare majority and gets her policy agenda through the legislative process. The results will also make things interesting for the Victorian state election in November. Will Labor lose even more inner-city Melbourne seats to the Green Party? Could there be another hung parliament?

Oh Mercy- Keith St. 7" Single Launch

Tonight Tash and I met up at The Toff in Town for the launch of Oh Mercy's new 7" single "Keith St." The two opening acts were lead singers from up and coming Melbourne bands: Geoff O'Connor of Crayon Fields and Kieran Ryan of Kid Sam. Geoff played his set on electric guitar with a sampler, while Kieran's set was all on acoustic guitar. It was good to see them both play for the first time after hearing positive things about their respective bands.

Oh Mercy started the night with "Lay Everything on Me" and then segued into "Seemed Like a Good Idea." Their set consisted mostly of new material from their upcoming album, which will be out in early 2011. It was nice to get a sneak preview and hear what they have been working on, including the new single "Keith St." A few of the songs really stood out on first listen, and Eliza even sang lead on one song called "Doldrums." We also got some of my favorites like "Broken Ears" and "In My Stride," and they finished their set with "Get You Back." The only downside of the evening was the fact that guitarist Thomas Savage has gone MIA. For some reason he is no longer touring with the band, which is a bit of a worry as he and Alex are such a great songwriting partnership. I would hate it if he has left the band.

Ruth and Danny's Wedding

Yesterday was Ruth and Danny's "Dutchnamese" wedding day. They started the morning with a traditional Vietnamese ceremony with both families, and then had the wedding in the afternoon at St. Margaret Mary's Church in Brunswick. It was a joyous ceremony and the priest's homily about them was quite funny. I hitched a ride with people over to the reception at Abbotsford Convent, and while they took photos we killed time in a cafe and then a small bar.

At 6pm the reception officially started with hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the courtyard. We then headed inside and sat down for the eight course Vietnamese seafood banquet which included oysters, scallops, lobster, abalone, and trout. In between the courses we had speeches, the cutting of the cake and first dance, which Danny and Ruth had a refresher swing dancing lesson for. After all that food we managed to hit the dance floor during the last hour of the reception. It was a great night and I am sure they will have a long and happy marriage.

Hungry Kids of Hungary- Shady Haze of Winter Tour

Last night Tash, Mary and I met up at the East Brunswick Club for Hungry Kids of Hungary's Shady Haze of Winter tour. After eating dinner in the bar we headed for the bandroom to catch the first act, Auckland's Artisan Guns, who were good. Next up was Sydney band The Holidays, who Tash and I last saw a couple years ago. They entered the stage to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" complete with lights flashing along to the beat (quite funny). Their set consisted entirely of new songs off their upcoming debut album Post Paradise, which I thought was a brave choice. The standout track for me was "6am."

Hungry Kids of Hungary hit the stage to big cheers from the crowd. They opened the night with "Set It Right." This was their first sold out show in Melbourne, which was exciting. The set list consisted of a few new songs, but was mostly all of their released material. "Wristwatch," "Scattered Diamonds" and "Let You Down" had the audience singing along and it was also good to hear some rarely played songs such as "Arrest This Heart" and "One By One." The encore saw an invasion of about 20 members of the crowd onto the stage for "Lenny" and "Good Times." It was another fun show by the Hungry Kids, and I can't wait for the release of their debut album Escapades on October 1st.

Here's the video for their latest single "Wristwatch"

Music Video Star

I got an interesting message from Mary yesterday alerting me to the fact that she, Tash and I appear in The Basics latest video for "Better." This was filmed at the last night of their Northcote Social Club residency in June, and is the first single off their new live album /ðə'bæzɪtʃ/, which is available now for free download.


Amazingly, this is not my first appearance in a music video. I am also in the Crowded House video for "It's Only Natural" in a crowd shot from a free show they played in Golden Gate Park in 1991 at the 2:22 minute mark (center of front row, black top). Blink and you'll miss me!

Ruth's Hen Night

Last night was Ruth's hen (or bachelorette) night. It was thankfully a very civilized affair. We started at Ruth's place around 4pm for the "triangles of wisdom" craft activity where everyone created a colorful triangle with some words of wisdom that were then strung together to create a banner. Next we headed out to dinner at the Turkish and Middle Eastern inspired restaurant Baba on Lygon Street in East Brunswick. For $35 per person we got a massive amount of food off the three course food safari banquet, which ranged from dips to assorted vegetables dishes and a lamb roast claypot. It was all very good and we had heaps of food left over.

After dinner we discovered a cute little bar a few doors down from the restaurant called Eydie's. We found a nice quiet spot at the back near a fake fireplace and had a couple of drinks before heading for home. Next Saturday is the wedding, so it was nice to meet and chat with Ruth's family and friends before the big day.

Visiting Schools

Over the last week and a half I have been able to escape the office and visit schools to do some filming. We are putting together a short DVD to show what a wider workforce in schools looks like and try to get away from the image of one teacher in front of 25 students in a classroom. We went to schools in the eastern and northern suburbs, as well as Ballarat. All these schools are using a variety of staff with different expertise to work in teams with students. Some of the schools also have built brand new open learning spaces using state and federal funding. It was good to get back into a school environment, and one school in particular with open learning spaces and teams of teachers made me even consider wanting to return to teaching. Now the fun will be editing down the massive amount of footage we have into 10 minutes. We probably have enough material to make several clips on different topics.

Mamasita

One of the biggest things I miss from home is Mexican food, and trying to find a decent Mexican restaurant in Australia has been a struggle. A few months ago I heard about a new restaurant opening in the former space of the Recorded Music Salon on Collins Street called Mamasita. I have been wanting to try it out and today Clinton, Jonathan and I headed over there for lunch. We got seats at the bar and started off with chips and salsa. The salsa had that smokey flavor that I love and the chips were made fresh (not from some cheap kilo tortilla chips bag like most places).

Next we shared a tostada tasting board with four tostadidas each of the de Maiz (sweet corn, black beans, epazote & jalapeno salsa, queso fresco) and de Pescado (market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili). They both tasted fresh and delicious. For my main I ordered three de Pescado tacos (soft corn tortillas with grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa) which were absolutely amazing and had the most fantastic flavors. I also had bites of Jonathan and Clinton's food and it was great as well. Every dish I tasted just made me happier and excited to have finally found a fabulous Mexican restaurant in Melbourne. I can't wait to go back and try out more dishes on the menu.

The Return to endota spa

Tonight I treated myself to an hour and a half of bliss at endota spa. I had received a gift certificate from endota around my birthday for a free 30 minute facial with any hour-long treatment. Since it was about to expire in a few weeks I finally made an appointment to go. I started off the evening with the scrub and glow body treatment. It began with a billabong footbath, then a body scrub with essential oils, salts and organic herbs. After washing off the salts she applied the lilly pilly moisturiser. Next I had the organic endota facial, which involved cleansing my skin, putting on a mask, a scalp massage, and then moisturising my face. I felt great after the treatments were finished and it was such a relaxing process having all these things massaged into my skin, which has never felt so soft and smooth.

Little Red- "Rock It" Single Tour

Last night I met up with Tash for dinner at SoulMama, a vegetarian cafe at the St Kilda Baths. It has a cafeteria set up where you pay by how many different sides you want and then get into a serving line to make your selections. The food was good, flavorful and filling.

After eating we headed over to the Prince Bandroom for Little Red's sold out show. First band for the night was the eclectic outfit Richie 1250 and the Brides of Christ. Richie may be a good DJ, but I'm not so sure about his band. Next up was Melbourne duo Big Scary. Most of their songs were played on guitar and drums (a bit of a light version of The White Stripes), but I preferred it when the lead singer Tom switched onto the keyboard for the songs "Autumn" and "Falling Away."

The crowd was already cheering even before Little Red hit the stage. It was good to see them sell out their biggest venue to date, especially since they have been out of the spotlight for quite a while. They opened the evening with "Stare In Love" then segued into "She's Not The Only One." The setlist was an even mix of old songs and new ones from their upcoming album. Standouts of the new material were "Slow Motion" and "Forget About Your Man." Their new single "Rock It" got a big reception, as did old favorites "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper." The band sounded great with the addition of a horn section for most of the songs, as well as having Tom on keyboards to fill out the sound. They finished off their set with "Coca Cola" and played "It's Alright" for an encore. I can't wait for the second album to finally be released in a couple months.

Here's the video for the new single "Rock It"

The Basics June Residency

The Northcote Social Club extended The Basics Tuesday night residency into the month of June. However, Mary and I have been bad fans as we did not attend any of the June shows until tonight, which was the last one. At least Tash had a good excuse- she's been overseas for the past few weeks. We met up in the dining area for dinner and to hear about Tash's trip. Then it was time to go into the bandroom to get a spot before The Basics set.

They started the night in traditional fashion with "Yeah, Yeah" and had quite the choreographed hand movements in the middle. It was a classic rock 'n' roll Basics gig with songs such as "Lovin' Man," "My Baby," "Money (Gimme, Gimme)" and "Call It Rhythm and Blues" played. There were surprisingly no songs played from the new album. As expected, there were several covers, including Electric Coconut's "Jungle Juice," Bill Scott's "Hey Rain" (which had the talkers quiet by the second verse), and an encore medley of Harry Nilsson's "Coconut," Wilson Pickett's "Land of a 1000 Dances" and The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'."

Kris also made mention during the show of Kevin Rudd's departure as Prime Minister and when they met him at this Australia Day celebration in Canberra in 2008. Here they are playing "Just Hold On" and "Hey There!"

A Week Of Win

This has been a very good week for me personally as I have made progress on two big goals for the year. The first is that I finally have permanent employment as a Senior Research and Policy Officer in the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. I thought this day would never come as I have been applying for ongoing jobs for quite a while and just missing out. It has been a frustrating and stressful time as my latest fixed term contract was due to finish in September. Thankfully I no longer have to worry and can relax. I will be working in the same research and policy area I have been in for the last two years doing work focused on school workforce reform, pre-service teacher education, and open learning spaces in schools.

The other thing I have had to deal with is applying for Australian citizenship. My permanent residency visa needed to been renewed this year if I ever wanted to leave and get back into the country. Since I was going to have to pay the government either way, I decided it was time to finally put in my application for citizenship. My citizenship appointment was originally scheduled for early August, but in a strangely proactive move for a bureaucracy, I got a call last week asking if I would like to move up my appointment. "Yes please" I said, so today was the new day. I had spent this week getting certified copies of documents done and studying for the citizenship test by reading Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes from start to finish. First they went through my application and checked all my original documents to verify my identity. Next I was brought into the testing room to take the test, which I passed with a 100% score! I now need to wait 4-6 weeks for a decision, and then anywhere from 3-6 months to attend a citizenship ceremony, which is the final stage of the process. I am hoping it won't take too long because I would really like to be able to vote in the upcoming state and federal elections. It will be fun to have dual citizenship.

Australia's New Prime Minister

It has been a crazy 24 hours in Australian national politics. In what I view to be a bloodless coup, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was challenged to a leadership vote in the Labor Party and ended up resigning this morning when he didn't have enough support to overcome the challenge of his Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. As a result, Australia now has its first female Prime Minister. I feel sad for Rudd as I don't think he deserved what happened to him today. It's not like there has been any scandal or anything. You might ask what did Rudd do to deserve being tossed out before the end of his first term in office? Well, it seems his greatest failure was falling poll numbers with an election on the horizon. Factions in the party felt is was time for a change, but I'm not so sure there will be much difference in policy. And don't get me wrong, I really do like Gillard and think she will make a great Prime Minister. I just wish she didn't come into power like this.

Here are some articles from The Age that explain everything a bit further:
Phillip Coorey and Tim Lester- "Gillard becomes Australia's first female Prime Minster as tearful Rudd stands aside"
Megan Levy- "Labor Party was losing its way under Rudd: Gillard"
Shaun Carney- "Hell hath no fury like a deputy scorned"

And here is video of Kevin Rudd's farewell speech and excerpts from Julia Gillard's address to the media.

Boy & Bear

Clinton, Kevin and I went to see Boy & Bear tonight for their first headlining tour in support of their new EP With Emperor Antarctica. Before hitting the venue we went and had dinner at Warwick Thai on Sydney Road in Brunswick. The food was good with generous serving sizes and fairly cheap prices.

We arrived at Northcote Social Club just as Oh Ye Denver Birds was about to start their set. I had a quick listen to their Myspace page and thought they would be decent, but the band that played tonight sounded nothing like the recorded songs. It was quite disappointing.

Boy & Bear came out to big cheers from the sold out crowd and opened with "Blood to Gold." They played all the songs off the EP and a few new ones as well. Lead singer Dave Hosking has such a soothing voice I could listen to him sing all night. That combined with the harmonies from the other band members made every song sound fantastic. The current single "Rabbit Song" received a great reception from the crowd and was probably the highlight of the evening. They also treated us to a cover of Bon Iver's "Flume," and finished the night with their first ever single "Mexican Mavis." Although it was a short set due to their lack of material (which Dave was apologetic about), they are an absolutely amazing band and I can't wait for them to write enough songs to be able to release a full length album.

Here's the video for "Rabbit Song" for your viewing pleasure:

Cloud Control: Bliss Release Tour

Last night Clinton and Kevin came to pick me up (saving me walking in the cold) and we headed to The East Brunswick Club to see Cloud Control's sold out show in support of their fantastic new album Bliss Release. When we arrived Richard In Your Mind was starting their set. I thought they were okay but after a while I found the lead singer's voice to be annoying and their songs didn't really draw me in to their performance.

Cloud Control came out onto the smoky stage to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Their set list consisted of songs from the new album and their self-titled EP. My favorites for the evening were "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight," "The Rolling Stone," "My Fear #2," "Vintage Books" and "Gold Canary," which received the biggest response of the night likely due to its airplay on Triple J. They finished their set with "Buffalo Country" and we thought for sure there would be an encore but the lights went up and the show was over. It was a bit disappointing as they could have easily played 2-3 more songs. The boys gave me a ride home and I even got a couple pieces of homemade cake to take with me.

The Basics May Residency

Each Tuesday in May The Basics are playing a residency at Northcote Social Club in support of the release of their new EP Wait For You. The usual suspects (aka Tash, Mary and I) were in attendance and here is a report of what happened at the shows.

May 11
Lachlan Bryan from The Wildes had the opening slot this week. He played a solo acoustic set and told some very funny stories to intro his songs. Unlike for many opening acts, the audience was actually quiet and listening to him sing instead of chatting away. It was good to see some musical manners in Melbourne.

I didn't make it to the first week of the residency, but had heard reports about what a disastrous performance The Basics gave last week, which had me worried. There are obvious tensions within the band, and it seems they had a therapeutic paintball session together over the weekend. This week was better than last, but it's still not quite up to standard. The set list was about half covers and half band songs. Kris played the first few songs wearing a parka (it has gotten cold, but not that cold) and took a phone call on stage from someone in the audience. "Second Best" got an extended heavy jam in the middle of it, and "With This Ship" was played when they pulled the plug on another song. It was mostly Wally singing lead tonight with "Memory Lane," "Just Hold On," and "Rattle My Chain" in the set. They also played the title track from their new EP "Wait For You," which is actually an older song that just hasn't been released before. Some of the covers throughout the evening included The Cure's "Lovesong," Electric Coconut's "Jungle Juice," which then led into Harry Nilsson's "Coconut." We also had a rocking version of The Beatles' "Day Tripper" and an audience request for George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You."

May 18
The Basics are nearly back! What a difference a week makes. Although Kris was still a bit off, they were smart this week and had a fan make the set list. We got a lot more Basics this time, which made me happy. They began the evening with the rarely played "Get Me Down," which is a b-side on the latest album and also included on the EP. Other rarities played included "Lovin' Man," "Call It Rhythm and Blues," and "Keep The Door Open." As always it was good to hear "Better" and my favorite "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today." All the new songs on the EP got an airing with the inclusions of "Wait For You" and "I Could Be Happy" in the set list. Towards the end of the set Kris ran off stage to go to the bathroom, so we got a bit of surf guitar music from Tim and Wally. Covers were kept to a minimum, but they did play Neil Young's "Southern Man," a beautiful a cappella version of Bill Scott's "Hey Rain" and The Police's "Roxanne" for an encore. It's Wally's 30th birthday on Friday, so I hope he has a good one!

Karaoke

Today was Natalie's birthday so she invited some friends and a group of us from work to celebrate with her by having a karaoke fest at Chi Lounge in Chinatown. We had our own private room for four hours at $25 per person, which was used to cover food and drinks for the group. It was an entertaining evening and we had a wide selection of music to choose from. Clinton did a good job of picking the divas to sing along to- Mariah, Britney, Beyonce, Lady GaGa, and Madonna. We also had some ABBA, Snoop Dogg, *NSYNC, Kanye West, and finished up the night with a rousing rendition of the Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life." I was hoarse by the end of the night but had a great time.

Vampire Weekend

Danny and I headed to Festival Hall tonight to see the second Melbourne show for New York band Vampire Weekend. It was an all ages gig and I was flattered to have been carded at the door (although they may have been doing that to everyone). The opening act was Sydney band Cloud Control, who I have been wanting to see for a while now. Their set was full of lovely harmonies and "Gold Canary" and "Buffalo Country" were highlights of the evening.

Vampire Weekend came out to huge cheers from the crowd. I am not as familiar with their music as Danny is, but they put on a solid set playing the majority of the songs from their two albums. Their indie rock sound is infused with Calypso rhythms, and while interesting, some of songs started to sound a bit the same after a while. My favorites of the evening were "Oxford Coma," "Cousins," "A-Punk," and the current single "Giving Up The Gun." They closed out the night with "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," which I found amusing since kids from Melbourne were singing along to a song about Cape Cod. All in all it was a good night of music, and my first time in the box that is Festival Hall.

ANZAC Day Match

Today is ANZAC Day, the Australian and New Zealand equivalent of Memorial Day. Besides the dawn service and veterans marches, there is also the tradition of the annual footy match between Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG. Jonathan joined me on the day and wore the Essendon colors even though he is a Melbourne supporter. We had standing room tickets near the members' section, and were surrounded by Collingwood fans (more on that later). I knew going into this game that either we would play well and win or get destroyed. Unfortunately, the later was the case and it was all pretty much over after the first quarter. The boys seem to have lost all their confidence and had so many skill errors. We could not move the ball inside 50 and often if we did it got turned over. We were dominated by Collingwood all day and at the end of the match it was a disappointing 65 point loss. I have a feeling this is going to be a long season.

Being at the footy surrounded by the people we were made me wonder why no one has done a sitcom focused on footy fans. Jonathan and I were amazed by all the different characters standing around us. There was the loud guy who would start cheers or rebuke the fans of the other team's cheering efforts. There was the one liner guy who I am convinced spends his week coming up with lines about various players to shout out at the game and impress his friends. Then there were the hangers on or yes men, who are big, burly, and you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. At least they all provided some entertainment on a depressing afternoon.

Final Score
Essendon: 8.7 (55)
Collingwood: 18.12 (120)

The Good China April Residency

This month The Good China are doing a Tuesday night residency at The Evelyn. Tash is such a hard core fan that she drove down from Ballarat to see them play. She came by and picked me up and then we headed to Brunswick Street. We ate dinner at Bimbo Deluxe, sharing our $4 pizzas and then indulging in the chocolate dessert pizza (kind of a pain au chocolat).

We arrived at The Evelyn for the start of the second support act Mercury White. The lead singer switched between keyboards and a keytar! Though hard to pinpoint, the band have a bit of an Irish rock sound to them and some songs reminded me of New York City band Black 47. They got a group of people up on stage with them to play percussion and sing along for "Sticks and Stones." It was an energetic set.

The Good China opened the evening with "No More Maps." There were a few issues they had to deal with this week, including a leaking roof and some of the band members having the flu. However, they persevered and put on a solid set of old and new songs. It was good to hear my favorite "If Pain Persists" and "Turn the Page." Each week the band are taking requests from fans for a cover song to perform at the each show. This week we got Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)," which was a fitting choice because Arcade Fire was one of the bands that inspired them to form The Good China two years ago. They finished their set with "We Found 3 Whistles" and then came out to do "All Nothing" for the encore.

Pumpkin Bread

I made some pumpkin bread last week and it was a big hit at work. Using pumpkin in baking is not a familiar thing for Australians, so after explaining that it's like a spice bread they give it a try and usually like it. Or love it in my case. I'm currently baking a second loaf to use up the rest of the canned pumpkin. Here's the recipe if you would like to make it for yourself:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350F/180C. Grease a 9 x 5 inch (8 cup) loaf pan.

In a medium size bowl whisk together thoroughly:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Combine in another bowl:
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat until creamy:
6 tablespoons butter
Gradually add and beat until lightened in color and texture:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Beat in one at a time:
2 large eggs
Add and beat until just blended:
1 cup pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture in two parts, stirring until smooth. Fold in:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on a rack.

Thunderstorms

Once again Melbourne has been hit by severe thunderstorms this afternoon, which resulted in flash flooding and a lot of damage around town. The sky went black around 2:30 pm and it started to bucket down. The rain was so hard it was almost like a blizzard whiteout and we even got hail that was the size of quarters. The street outside my apartment flooded, as did a lot of places in the Melbourne CBD. Elizabeth Street turned into a river as you can see from this video. We received over an inch of rain in one hour (and about 0.7 inches of that was in 20 minutes), and the storm drains just couldn't cope. It has calmed down now, but more thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow.

Sydney Road Street Party

Because we didn't see enough of each other last night, Clinton, Kevin and I met up at the Sydney Road Street Party this afternoon. Joined by their friend Cameron we walked up and down Sydney Road a few times checking out the booths and food stalls. Unfortunately it seems as though the Muslim Women's Association has given up on selling their wonderful gozleme, which is so disappointing. We ended up eating chocolate croissants and sharing a lemon tart at Choukette and had our main meal from the Hare Krishna stall. There were lots of people out enjoying the street party and the various band stages, although we didn't find any music acts that grabbed our attention. After a few hours we decided we had seen everything there was to see and headed for home.

Hungry Kids of Hungary- The Air Sick Tour

Tonight Clinton, Kevin and I met up at The East Brunswick Club to see Hungry Kids of Hungary return to Melbourne on their "Air Sick" tour. The first band I saw for the evening was Boy & Bear from Sydney. I was really impressed by them and their harmonies and folk sounding music, which is a bit similar to Fleet Foxes. They are definitely a band to watch. Next up was Ernest Ellis, also from Sydney, who had a few songs that sounded good, but overall their set didn't really grab my attention.

Hungry Kids of Hungary came out to the nearly sold out venue and opened with their latest single "Let You Down." They then launched into a couple new songs that they've just recorded for their new album. The set list was a mix of old and new material. As always it was good to hear "Set It Right," "Lenny," and "Old Money." For "Scattered Diamonds" the members of Boy & Bear came up to play percussion and sing along. They ended the set with "Good Times" and then for an encore did a cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." It was great to see them play once again and enjoy those harmonies and wonderful power pop songs. The new material sounds good, so I'm looking forward to a full length debut album.

Visiting Regional Victoria

This morning I caught the train from Southern Cross Station up to Ballarat. It was my first time on V/Line and the nearly hour and a half train ride was a comfortable one. Michelle picked me up at the station and then we headed over to get Tash. Her little cottage house is very cute. After a bit of a chat we hit the road for Hepburn Springs to have lunch at Chowder House. Co-owned by an American chef, we had been wanting to try out this place for a while now, and Michelle thought it would be a good way to celebrate my birthday. They have about six different chowders on the menu. I had a traditional clam chowder, Tash had a seafood chowder and Michelle went with the chicken and corn chowder. All of them came with a piece of homemade cornbread as well. The big bowl of chowder tasted fantastic and although not too thick was quite filling. It definitely met my expectations.

After a quick drive around Hepburn Springs to check out the many mineral spring spas in the area, we went to neighboring Daylesford to have a walk around downtown and visit some of the shops. In one of the first places we went into I spotted this necklace and really liked it, so I bought it as a gift for myself. After a while we ended up finding an ice cream shop and stopped in for some dessert. Once we returned to Ballarat we had a drive around the city and the now dry Lake Wendouree (a victim of the drought). One of the great things about many of the towns in the region is that they still have a lot of their historical buildings from the gold rush era in the mid-1800s. We stopped by Michelle's townhouse so I could have a look at it before she dropped Tash and I off for the train ride back to Melbourne. While Tash went off to watch the Tropfest short film festival at Federation Square, I headed for home.

One Year Older

It is now officially my birthday in both Australia and the United States. The day began with a phone call from my parents. I was good and did not open the present they sent me until today, which was a photo book of my life that my Mom made. It's really awesome. They also got me the bouquet of flowers you see in the picture. I have received some lovely birthday wishes from friends and family throughout the day. Chantal and I went out to lunch at Shuji Sushi and Clinton treated me to a mini chocolate mud cake at Treasury Deli in the afternoon. After working off the cake at the gym I returned home and I'm spending the evening watching Gossip Girl and RuPaul's Drag Race. All in all it's been a pretty good birthday.

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

After work Clinton and I grabbed a quick dinner and then met his partner Kevin at the Kino Cinema to see Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. The movie, set in Harlem in 1987, is about a 16 year-old obese, illiterate girl named Claireece Precious Jones who lives with her dysfunctional mother, Mary. Precious has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long term physical, mental and sexual abuse from her unemployed mother. Despite the grim storyline, it is a tale of trying to make a better life for yourself and not giving up.

All of us had prepared ourselves for the movie to be difficult to watch, but it wasn't that graphic and at a lot of the worst moments in Precious' life, it would switch to her having a dream sequence. Gabourey Sidibe is great in her first acting performance as Precious and Mo'Nique is amazingly brutal as Precious' mother. This film definitely deserves all the awards and Oscar nominations it has received.

The Good China at St. Kilda Festival

Today I headed down to the St. Kilda Festival to catch The Good China playing the Main Stage on the beach. They won the opening slot by being voted best band on the New Music Stage at last year's festival. A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch them play their half hour set. They started with a new song and then played one of my favorites "If Pain Persists." Other songs in the set included "No More Maps," "Turn The Page" and "All Nothing" (complete with hand claps). They finished off the day with a rousing rendition of "We Found Three Whistles" that had the crowd dancing. It was very exciting to see the band playing on the big stage, and I'm sure it would have been a huge thrill for them all. Since it was a fairly warm day and there weren't any other acts I was dying to see I headed back for home.

The Cuckoos

Last night Belinda came and picked me up and we headed off to Brunswick Street as a bit of a farewell since she will be moving to London in about a week. We had dinner at The Vegie Bar, dessert at Trampoline and then headed to The Evelyn to see The Cuckoos. The first band we saw for the evening was The Alcorettes, who had a much more alt-country/early rock 'n' roll sound that I was expecting. Next was The Revels, who have that classic Aussie pub rock sound and good energy on stage.

The Cuckoos played a fun set and had a group of people dancing at the front of the stage. They played a mixture of new songs and ones off their EP. It was good to hear "Sweet Tooth Sally Malouf," "Clementine" and my personal favorite "Lovely Day." They even sang their own version of "Happy Birthday" for someone in the crowd (and I'll take it as early birthday wishes for myself too). It was good to see Tom and Quang playing live again, as Little Red don't seem to be doing much these days.

When Thunderstorms Attack

Around 3:30 pm the thunder and lightning started and then the rain began. By 4:30 pm parts of the city were under water due to flash flooding and a couple people were even spotted swimming down Flinders Street. It was the heaviest rain I have ever seen in this town, and the lightning was very close to the CBD. Thankfully by the time I left work for the gym things had calmed down, and more importantly the temperatures have finally cooled after a hot week.

The Basics Record a Live Album

Last night Tash, Mary and I made our way to the Northcote Social Club to see our beloved band The Basics record songs for an upcoming live album. After signing our names in paint on the boards that will be used for the album cover, we entered the sold out room. The band played a range of songs spanning all their releases throughout the two hour set. The evening started with just Wally, Kris and Tim on stage, and then they were joined by David Bramble on keyboards and other musicians as the evening progressed.

There were a fair amount of songs from Stand Out/Fit In, with "Lookin' Over My Shoulder" having a more reggae sound. "Three Cool Cats" had the audience clapping out the rhythm and Tim played a lively version of "Have Love, Will Travel." There were only a few songs played from the new album Keep Your Friends Close, including our favorite "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today" and a completely new and faster arrangement of "Home Again" that was inspired by Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)." I was really excited to hear the unreleased track "What It Feels Like To Be Loved," which was played at The Evelyn residency in 2008 but didn't make the album.

It wouldn't be a Basics gig without covers, and we got a few throughout the evening, including The Police's "Roxanne," Neil Young's "Old Man" and New Kids On The Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" complete with dance moves. To finish off the night they played a medley of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" and Eric Clapton's "Cocaine." It will be interesting to see what songs end up making it onto the live album.

Here's the video for their brilliant latest single, "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today"

Happy Birthday Danny

After our big shopping excursion last week today was the day for Danny's American/Australian-themed 30th birthday party. A group of us gathered at Princes Park in Carlton this afternoon on what was a very hot day. We set up a table in the shade with a variety of American foods as well as some Kool-Aid. Surprisingly a lot of guests weren't big fans of the Kool-Aid, which I guess is an acquired taste. Ruth braved the barbecue grill in the sun and we had hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages along with some salads. I contributed a classic macaroni salad, which came out just as I remember it from my youth (it was the first time I had made the dish).

Danny had brought a variety of balls, so while some people kicked the footy we were throwing around a football. I think we had people throwing spirals after a few tries. Danny's attempt at an American accent contest didn't really take off, so we sang happy birthday and had some of Ruth's chocolate ripple cake, which was in the shape of the number 30. It was a fun afternoon and as darkness descended on the park we cleaned up and headed for home.

Americana Australian Style

This morning Danny and Ruth picked me up and we drove out to the USA Foods store in Moorabbin. Danny is having an American/Australian themed b-day party next week so he was looking to pick up some items for the event. The shop was smaller than we were expecting, but I did find some great stuff to buy:
- Jello
- Jello pudding
- Libby's canned pumpkin
- Bulls Eye Original barbecue sauce
- Honey Maid cinnamon graham crackers
- Marshmallows
- Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

So inspired were we by our American purchases that we decided to head to Costco in Docklands for some further shopping and to go in together on a joint membership. Walking into the store made me feel like I was back in the States because the layout is practically identical to the one in Novato. Warehouse stores are a new concept in Australia so they are allowing people to sign in and walk around if they aren't members (although you can't buy anything). I picked up some bagels and a gigantic bottle of Saigon cinnamon that was priced the same as a small bottle of ground cinnamon at the grocery store. It was a successful shopping excursion and if I ever feel homesick I will just go hang out at Costco. I'm now going to make some Rice Krispies Treats with the marshmallows I bought.

Brushes with Greatness

Tonight I exchanged smiles and waves goodbye with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Teach For Australia celebration at Melbourne Museum. Maybe she thought I was a TFA Associate? Yesterday Victorian Premier John Brumby walked by while I was at Treasury Deli. Unfortunately, I have yet to run into Prince William while he's been in Melbourne.

Team Conan

Before I left the States last week news broke that NBC was going to shaft Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show by moving Jay Leno's failed 10:00 pm show to 11:35 pm after the Olympics and push The Tonight Show to start a half hour later at 12:05 am. I have been really angry that Conan is being treated this way and was glad to read Conan's statement today that he is not down with it either. Who knows what will happen now, but the ball is in NBC's court.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over “The Tonight Show” in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my “Tonight Show” in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.” Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the “Late Night” show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard, and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of “The Tonight Show.” But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the “Tonight Show,” I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,
Conan

The Temper Trap

Tonight Tash and I headed to The Forum for a sold out show by The Temper Trap. Even though they are from Melbourne the band are probably bigger in the UK than in Australia. The opening act was UK band The Boxer Rebellion, who played a solid set of indie rock music.

The Temper Trap got a great reaction from the crowd for their anthemic music and Dougy's angelic voice. There were large sing along for many of their songs, including "Sweet Disposition," "Fader," and "Down River." For the encore they sang Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and finished the night with "Science of Fear."

The Never Ending Journey...

Greetings from Auckland Airport where I am currently stuck for the day while waiting for my flight to Melbourne. The fun started yesterday when my San Francisco to Auckland flight was delayed 5 hours due to a late arriving plane (it was 12 hours late!). We didn't leave until after midnight, so I knew I would miss my 8 am connecting flight to Melbourne this morning. Conveniently the Air New Zealand people had already booked me on the next available flight. Unfortunately, that flight doesn't leave until 7:30pm tonight. The only other flight to Melbourne is at 3:30 pm, and that is fully booked. To add to the fun, since I am "in transit" I am stuck at the airport.

So how does one kill time at the airport? I have been purchasing access to the wi-fi hotspots so I can have some internet time. I will have a wander around the terminal, although there isn't much too see in Auckland. SFO did have this crazy pinball exhibit on in the terminal, so that was interesting. I managed to convince the Air New Zealand people to give me a food voucher, so that will be my lunch (I had received a dinner voucher from them at SFO). I will also have a bit of a lay down, read a book, and listen to music.

Being delayed 5 hours had added an additional 12 hours to my travel time on this trip home. I'm not going to get to my place till probably after 10 pm, and I am supposed to go to work tomorrow! We'll see what happens, but considering how hot it is supposed to be, an air conditioned office may be the better option in my exhausted state.

California Academy of Sciences

Today my parents and I headed to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. This was one of my favorite places to come on day care field trips when I was little, and my father used to spend his childhood summers going there too, so we were excited to see the recently renovated Academy. The building is now a lot lighter and airier with floor to ceiling windows and many of the exhibits have been updated or changed. There is also an even greater focus on education and interactive displays.

We started with the albino alligator and then headed into the Steinhart Aquarium. Different focus areas included the marine and plant life along the Northern California Coast and in different coral reefs throughout the world. The tide pool where kids can touch things still exists, and there were many cries of "Nemo" heard at the main tank viewing area. The sea dragons and coral life were my favorites in the aquarium.

Next we wandered around the various exhibits of the Kimball Natural History Museum and into the African Hall. Besides the dioramas of mounted animals they now have a live colony of African penguins. The penguins were entertaining to watch and they jumped in and out of the water and swam around.

One of the fantastic brand new exhibits is the living 4-story Rainforest which is contained within a 90-foot diameter glass dome. Animals and plants from Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica and the Amazon are represented as you walk up a spiraling path from the forest floor to the canopy. The temperature and humidity levels in the dome also add authenticity to the experience.

Our last stop was The Living Roof on top of the Academy. The Living Roof´s 1.7 million native plants were specially chosen to flourish in the climate of Golden Gate Park. Since it's winter there is not much going on, but it would be cool to be up there in spring when things are blooming and there are more animals and insects around.

On our way back home we stopped for lunch at Marinitas on Sir Francis Drake Blvd in San Anselmo. This Mexican and Latin American food restaurant opened nearly a year ago and is owned by Heidi Krahling, who also runs Insalata's down the street. We had the chicken and vegetarian enchiladas and I thought the food was decent but not spectacular. The restaurant decor is nice and I would imagine probably draws a good crowd for dinner.

Cartier and America

Today my mom and I headed into San Francisco to see the Cartier and America exhibition at the Legion of Honor. Here's the press release for the event:

Cartier and America covers the history of the House of Cartier from its first great successes as the “king of jewelers and jeweler to kings” during the Belle Epoque through to the 1960s and 1970s, when Cartier supplied celebrities of the day with their jewels and luxury accessories. Derived mainly from the private Cartier Collection housed in Geneva, the spectacular array of more than 200 objects includes jewelry of the Gilded Age and Art Deco periods, as well as freestanding works of art such as the famous Mystery Clocks. With an extensive variety of jewelry forms—ranging from traditional white diamond suites to the highly colored exotic creations of the 1920s and 1930s—Cartier made its mark with the ingenuity of its designs and its exquisite craftsmanship.

The exhibition was fantastic with some pretty amazing pieces of jewelry on display. Besides those from the ultra elite of the early 1900s, they had small jewelry collections from the Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly (including her 10 carat diamond engagement ring), and Elizabeth Taylor. One thing I found interesting was the versatility of many pieces, which could be worn as necklaces, multiple bracelets or in other configurations. Some people even had their jewelry redesigned over the years to reflect the times. If you are in San Francisco you should definitely check out Cartier and America, which is on through April 2010.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! It has been a long but fun day. We started the morning with 10:30 am mass at St. Raphael's Church where I saw Lynne, Jeremy and her family as well as my great-aunt Lorraine. Once we got home it was time to finish cleaning and get started on cooking dinner. As has become an annual tradition, my Aunt Chris and cousins Leilani and Meinani came over for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately James was working, plus with the new baby he and Simi weren't going to be able to come down this year.

We started with cheese and crackers and some mulled cider before moving into the dining room for our big meal. My mom made Jello salad with cranberries, and then it was time for the main meal of scalloped potatoes, turkey, stuffing, and broccoli. All of it was delicious, and Lei also brought a couple different bottles of white wine to have with dinner.

After finishing eating we went back out into the living room to digest food and exchange presents. Lei was furiously knitting to finish up one of my gifts- a scarf. When we had a bit of room in our stomachs it was time to hit the dessert table. All of that baking from yesterday was now available to eat. I had a little sample of everything, and the apple pie came out well. It was another successful Christmas dinner, and as always nice to spend time with family over the holidays.

Baking up a Storm

I have spent the majority of today baking assorted treats with my mom for our Christmas dinner tomorrow. I think we may have too much dessert.

Sugar Cookies


Snowball Cookies


Pumpkin-Orange Cookies


Lemon-Cranberry Bundt Cake


Apple Pie

Shopping

I have spent the last two days helping the US economy by shopping up a storm. On Sunday my mom and I went to Vintage Oaks in Novato and hit Target, Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, Ann Taylor Loft, and Costco. My biggest bargain of the day was a zip hooded fleece sweatshirt on sale for $5 at Old Navy (in fact, I got a lot of clothes on sale there and only paid about $100 total).

Today we went to The Village and Town Center in Corte Madera. I managed to finish up my Christmas shopping at Williams-Sonoma (along with getting some peppermint bark and hot chocolate), got a nice pair of trousers on sale for $16 at the Gap, a laptop battery at the Apple store (very much not on sale), and also checked out J.Crew, Anthropologie, and Crate and Barrel. In the midst of all this we also stopped for lunch at Boudin, where I continued to indulge my love of sourdough by having clam chowder in a bread bowl.

Meeting my Nephew

Today my parents and I headed up to my brother's place to have lunch and see my nephew Logan, who is now two-weeks old. Dad made his very yummy clam chowder and we also binged on my favorite sourdough bread from Bordanave's. It was great to meet Logan, who is a cute and fairly mellow baby. I got to hold and feed him briefly while he was awake. It was also nice to catch up with James and Simi and Simi's parents, who are staying with them until the new year. Everyone seems to be doing pretty well considering the huge life changing event. We will be back up to visit them after Christmas to exchange presents and spend more time together.

Flying Across the Pacific

Today was my flying day on Air New Zealand: Melbourne to Auckland and then Auckland to San Francisco. I managed to occupy my time by reading, listening to music, and watching the films Julie & Julia, It Might Get Loud, and Funny People. Due to a strong tail wind we actually arrived in San Francisco an hour early! It was a clear and crisp day as we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. I am happy to be home for the holidays and hopefully the jet lag won't be too bad.

The Boroughs

Yesterday Tash and I attended The Boroughs, which organisers said would be "a celebration of the culture, street art and music of New York." Originally scheduled to be at a warehouse on La Trobe Street, the venue was changed to Shed 4 in Docklands. Wilfred Jackal was finishing up their set when we arrived. Both Tash and I were a bit confused as we walked in. First problem was that they were only using part of the Shed, which didn't really make much sense. Their attempt at making it "New York" was to have some opened shipping containers around the floor, graffiti artists painting a wall (they were amateurs compared to a lot of the graffiti you see around Melbourne), some really bad attempts at performance art, and a small skate ramp for the skaters. It was a total fail.

Music-wise the bands really had nothing to do with New York either, but there was a good mix of different styles. The sound in the Shed was horrendous though, which was really apparent for the bands we have seen live before. I wouldn't mind hearing The Hello Morning in an intimate venue as their alt-country sound was so muddy in the venue. The Frowning Clouds played with a lot of energy and had a group of people dancing at the front of the stage. Bachelor of Arts was probably the closest to a New York sounding band, and Hot Little Hands played a good set of indie rock.

Miami Horror had everyone dancing and their single "Sometimes" got a big reaction from the crowd. Up next was Yves Klein Blue, who were fantastic as always. It was great to hear "Getting Wise," "Polka," and "Digital Love." The final act of the evening was Bertie Blackman, who was dressed in a monk's robe for most of the night. In her hour-long set she played the one song I know of hers, "Byrds of Prey," as well as covers of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" and a Fleetwood Mac song. The funniest part of her set though was watching the Frowning Clouds boys with supersoakers running around side of stage and spraying the audience.

I'm An Auntie

Welcome to the world my nephew Logan James. He is a big boy at 9 lbs 13 oz, and is 20 inches long. To think he was two weeks early! I can't wait to meet and hold him in person in a couple weeks when I am home for the holidays.