My Name Is Tim But They Call Me James

2009-03-05T21:55:00.000Z

jamesontheinternet.tumblr.com

It's easier.

Flying Home from Slovakia

2008-08-02T16:25:00.002+01:00

I’m at Bratislava airport with pen and paper because, not through lack of trying, we were unable to find a UK to Europe power adapter. My poor laptop has been asleep for days.

Had an awesome extra-long weekend. Arriving on Thursday night after a stressful train, tube, train, queue, check-in, queue, bag search, run, queue, boarding-journey from work to the plane, I took a car trip from Bratislava to Trnava for a sleep(-in) in a beautiful in-the-roof apartment.

The first day saw us strolling through Trnava’s centre, which is surrounded by a decaying, 5m thick fort with cavities for pointing guns through at on-coming attacks. I now refer to the bit inside as ‘the safe part of Trnava’. There are many old buildings inside, which seemed to be the norm for the town which was founded in 1238 (before I was born). For lunch we went to an underground restaurant with a room with walls/ceiling which formed a continuous brick arch. I asked Peter to ask the waitress what the building was originally used for, and I paraphrase ‘I don’t know, I’ve only been here for 2 years’. Later, on our way out I saw a plaque (in Slovak) that looked suspiciously like it had the buildings history written it and Peter soon revealed that yes, it did, and the building has been a wine cellar for hundreds of years. Lunch, at Peter’s whim, was Slovakia’s national dish. I’m told it’s mashed potatoe mixed with flour (and maybe egg) broken into pieces, boiled and served with a thick parmesan-tasting cream and usually bacon. It was yummy but too strong, too filling and too much, but I’d eat it again. We accompanied it with a cinnamon-flavoured Czech liquor called Becherovka. On the way home I was introduced to the wonder that is Kofola: Eastern Europe’s answer to Coke. A non-alcoholic herb-based drink that reminds me of Jagermeister and comes on tap. I can’t find any here at the airport L

As planned, Friday evening we were driven (via Tesco’s) to Peter’s friend’s cottage for the weekend with about 10 of their friends. We drank, ate, drank, slept, picked apples, visited a castle, dined for lunch (potatoe omellette and deep-friend cheese with Kofola), found blackberries, drank, listened to a lot of Slovak, played cards, slept and went home. A short description of what was a really awesome time.

At the apartment, Peter’s brother and his new wife were preparing for a celebration of their wedding with friends as they’d had their wedding in seclusion on a Greek island. We ate and drank and chatted (sometimes in English) and I found out that I really like the taste of Martini (the liquor, not the cocktail). In the evening we went on foot through the town on an ill-planned journey to get a kofola from a fav pub of Peter’s and maybe buy some wine and find a power adaptor from a Tesco’s that was maybe open. Through luck of coming across Peter’s friends who offered to drive us to Tesco’s (which was open) we got the wine, but no power adaptor, before walking our way home via the pub…and that was my last drink of Kofola :(

Now I’m watching my hour-late plane board. Love watching people board for free-seating planes. Especially the English.

Highlights:

Picking Blackberries from the side of the road
Kofola
The Communist Slovak Cottage
Deepfriend Cheese
Cheap alcohol
Finding a new type of fruit on the side of the road (like a plum, but not; one orange, one purple)
Picking apples
Becherovka
The apartment I stayed in (it had a bidet!)
Light switches that make ours look like dolls-house ones (nothing better than turning a light on with your whole palm)

Lowlights:

Not understanding what everyone was always laughing at because my Slovak is limited to a handful of words
The Skinheads/Neo-Nazis
Forgetting my camera
Not being able to use my new computer
Being considered rude because I don’t put my hand over my mouth when a yawn (culture thing) :P

Flying to Slovakia

2008-07-24T21:00:00.000+01:00

I’m currently on a RyanAir flight to Bratislava, Slovakia (yes, that’s one half of former Czechoslovakia) typing on my brand new Dell laptop which set me back two weeks wages. Having a laptop removes one more reason for not keeping my blog updated and so stay tuned to see what lame excuse I come up with next.

Trying to remember what mention-worthy stuff I’ve been up to, I’ve realised I don’t even know when I last blogged (I don’t have internet access). It’s been a while.

I’ve been to quite a few gigs. I’m mostly steering clear of gig guides (there‘s just too much highlighting to do) but plenty still keep popping up. There was Robyn and Sam Sparro at the Astoria which was fantastic (<3 Robyn). Johann Johannson and Max Richter at an old church in Angel. Ladytron twice after the first gig ended 50mins in due to a power failure. Alanis Morrissette, lol. O2 Festival (Robyn, Cut Copy, Fat Boy Slim) thanks to Laura’s colleague’s friend. Intimate Sigur Ros gig at a (sort of) church which was absolutely amazing! Won tickets to Feeder/Infadels @ Koko’s and, yes, I actually went. And in the same way (iTunes festival) won tickets to see Annie and Sam Sparro, also @ Koko‘s. Annie was, umm, interesting and we skipped Sam for an early night. Oh and that free Sigur Ros/Bjork gig I blogged about happened; I watched it live on the internet.

Works going alright. I’m getting my tasks done. It’s not too hard. Have a ‘review’ at the start of September. That’ll be interesting. Since this is a public medium I don’t wish to mention too much. Every Wednesday we get free donuts. Jealous? No? Okay.

My parents came. You’d think that they’d have held out longer than 6 months but I actually think it was the pull of the English summer that contributed to their trip timing. I trained my way down to visit them in Cornwall for a long weekend. Cornwall’s a bit beautiful. We managed one tourist attraction per day starting with Lanhydroc House which was an old (well, a few hundred years) house lived in by a very rich family. It was my first National Trust experience and I enjoyed it much more than I thought. It was amazing to see how the rich lived in those times. They make celebrities with their butlers, drives and nannies look like the bourgeois. Second day was Cornwall Cyder Farm (not a typo). I also thoroughly enjoyed this which included a tour through the history of Cider in England which included fermentation-inducing donkey shit and mass death due to lead poisoning. The tour ended with tastings of a wide range of Scrumpies, Ciders and Alcohol distilled from Cider. I should also mention that this was the first time I saw apples growing on a tree. The third day saw us hiring bicycles and riding a long an old railway which followed the mouth of a river with some amazing views. The ride was from Wadebridge to Padstow and back. My first time on a bike in a while and the first time I’ve seen mum on a bike in 15 or so years.

Last weekend all but one of my flatmates was away on holiday to a Spanish music festival in Bennicassim and Peter was in his homeland. That left Charissa and me, and sometimes just me, in the house. While Saturday was super fun relaxing, listening to music and getting my chores done in the empty house, Sunday was I fell ill and was bored and lonely. I need to find the balance between relaxing me-time and social party-times.

Monday night Conan and Annie landed themselves in London direct out of New York (*sigh*). They were only around for a day and two bits but we managed a trip to my favourite Pakistani restaurant, Tayyab’s in Whitechapel. My third time at Tayyab’s (first with Ratty and friends and second for my mother’s birthday) and the food hasn’t been anything but amazing once. And it’s so cheap (remember, this is London). However, my friends and I aren’t the only ones fond of their food and prices, failing to book leaves you waiting in line for half an hour to an hour (even on a Monday or Tuesday night).

And this weekend I’ve taken two days off (Friday and Monday) and left work early on Thursday to jet off to Slovakia to spend some time in a country cottage probably getting drunk and not being able to speak Slovak*. Sounds like awesome to me.

*and maybe picking berries(!!!), but no guarantees on that one.

Coming up after my trip to Slovakia is a long weekend (an actual public holiday this time) to Edinburgh for the fringe festival meeting up with Conan/Annie/Tracey and my cousin who’s recently relocated there. A couple of weeks of London times with Annie/Tracey/Conan. A long weekend to Paris (Hello, Eurostar!) with Tracey. Antony and the Johnsons with the London Symphony Orchestra and then further towards the end of the year Sigur Ros (yes, again).

What should I do for my birthday?

Shopping Day

2008-06-08T10:43:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I decided to head to Oxford St to pick up a couple of shirts for work. Bad idea. The footpaths were teaming with people and it turned out so were Topshop, H&M and Primark. I'm not that into shopping at the best of times but when you can't take more than three steps without encountering a human obstacle I start to freak out. That and the fact that the AC wasn't coping with the crowds.

Anyway, I bought two shirts. But I think one is too small and has to be taken back.

I also had my first Pret-a-manger expereince which was surprisingly good. Yummy felafel sandwhich...but totally overpriced.

I bought 3 different types of deodourant because I can't find the one I use here. One of them is the hippie 'crystal' one...would be nice if that works.

And for the last, more exciting, bit of the day we headed to Totally Swedish. The Swedish equivalent of The Australia Shop (I've never seen this shop btw) which sells those sorts of products that make one feel slightly more at-home while abroad.

I bought a kids comic book about a bear and a rabbit who go to Paris and save the Eiffel tower which is pretty cool. And some other kids book (they're for Swedish practice btw). And some knackerbrod, kind of like Ryvita but a hundered times better.

Sveriges Nationaldag i London

2008-06-07T12:30:00.003+01:00

So yesterday I went to a celebration of Swedish National Day in London with my Swedish teacher. It was quite interesting. Choir singing, student performances, speeches, cake, hotdogs and (my favourite bit) a raffle. Unfortunately I didn't know how to buy tickets for it. :( Oh and there were a whole lot of Swedish-looking Swedish people (I wasn't the only blonde person there).

It was in Hammersmith, on the south side of the river. Such a rich area and a stark contrast to where I live. So much green and there's even space between the houses there!

SuperMastermind Master

2008-06-06T12:50:00.000+01:00

This is my effort on SuperMastermind. Pretty impressive, huh?

Sigur Ros

2008-06-06T10:39:00.003+01:00

Just bought tickets to see Sigur Ros at Westminster Central Hall. Buying tickets was a but frantic but we eventually got through on the telephone machine!!!

Anyway, it's the 24th June and I'm excited.

P.S. Bjork and Sigur Ros (and maybe Radiohead) are playing a free gig in Iceland later this month. Does it get much better? No. Except for the fact that it costs 150 pounds to fly to Iceland. Could be worth it?

Important Announcement

2008-06-05T21:29:00.002+01:00

This is my favourite cider. I accept nothing else.

Last Job Hunting Update

2008-06-05T14:04:00.002+01:00

I haven't blogged for a while. This is because all I've really needed to write about was my job hunting and I didn't want the details of that out in the public space, but now it's all over!

I start at 9.30pm Monday 9th June at Imagination Technologies. I originally rejected their offer but started negotiating and ended up accepting another offer. And boy does it feel good to have the process over and done with.

In this position I'll be writing simulators to test the latest low-power graphics chips developed by Img Tec which are licensed out to chip manufacturers (such as Texas Instruments, Samsung, Intel) who then produce chips which find themselves in products such as higher-end phones like the Nokia N95 and Apple's iPhone.

I've definitely learnt a lot from the four job interviews I've attended. Job interviews are hard work. Not only did I have to perform quickly in response to hours technical questions and problem-solving questions but also mentally 'repackage' myself to suit each position. It's bloody hard work.

I looked forward to my bank balance increase for once.

How to Instantly Stun an Aussie

2008-05-28T13:58:00.001+01:00

So I just got off the phone to my job agent. Three seconds into the phone call he'd rendered me useless, turned into a momentary vegetable. This was a stark reminder of this strong weapon the English have against us.

I'd been warned about it as soon as I arrived but didn't quite understand or pay it much significance. It wasn't long though before I'd fallen victim to a very well-timed attack. I was bounding sprightly down the stairs one morning in the house I was staying when my flatmate hit me with it and I just froze, staring.

What did she do? She'd said 'You alright?'. That's all; a simple greeting equivalent to 'how are you?' or 'how you going?'. But this is one that seems to tweak the Australian brain into submission. Not once when I've been presented with this greeting have I been able to utter a single word in reply.

It's the unfamiliarity of the greeting. Their ambiguous way of expressing it. The speed with which they fire it at you.

I'll consider myself properly assimilated when I can reply 'Good, thanks, yourself?' without pausing enough to create awkward silence.

Two Gigs and Lots of Job Hunting Stress

2008-05-23T13:47:00.003+01:00

About a week ago Charissa and I went to see Ladytron at Astoria. It always amazes me how different gigs are here. Firstly (and unsurprisingly) in the number of people for such a size band. And secondly the diversity; I just struggle to fathom what brings all the middle-age conservative-looking men to these gigs. Unlike the one at Bjork, I spotted one in the Ladytron audience who actually looked like he was kinda enjoying the music too!

Anyway, Ladytron were okay, nothing special, but then 50mins into their set they lost power and 20 mins later we were told the show was over which was followed by much booing and then cheering when it was announced that a replacement show would be scheduled and all tickets for that night's show would be honoured. Nice.

Last night I saw Atlas Sounds (Bradford Cox from Deerhunter) and Animal Collective at Koko's. Firstly, Koko's is an AMAZING venue with so many levels (like 6 or 7?) and little nooks and crannies it's like a game to point at a certain spot and then figure out how to get there. What was not-so-pleasing about the gig was the crowd. The teeny boppers (I hate that term but it's neccessary here) infront of us were most-annoying and WTF possessed the crowd to barge and push each other around during an Animal Collective gig? I spent most of the time thinking how much better the gig would have been at The Zoo.

And throughout all this and since the last blog I've been job hunting. More optimism, high hopes, interviews and disappointment. Job hunting is one of the most emotionally stressful activities I've partaken in. Anyway, my agent (hah, I sound like a celebrity) is in negotiations with the company who offered me a job two weeks ago. So feeling optimistic about what will come of that :)

Weekly Update

2008-05-05T19:30:00.002+01:00

I was a busy boy last week. So busy that I even forked out for a weekly travel card!

Since Monday I:

Bought a suit
Had it altered
Had my hair cut
Went to Swedish School
Went to my first interview
Went out for a goodbye dinner
Went to my second interview
Went to popjustice
Went for a friend's visa celebration
Spent a weather-prefect day starring out my window
Did London things on a public holiday

So finally I bit the bullet and bought the suit. Half price thanks to Peter's staff discount (but still cringingly expensive!). Suit + Shirt + Shoes + Belt + 2 x Tie = 350 pounds after the discount.

After purchase we took it to the alterers so I could be all pinned up for a perfect fit. Peter also happened to be friends with the alterer so he did a whole lot more altering than I paid for.

Hair cut was a spur-of-the-moment thing. It was rather neccessary due to the interviews. I toyed with the idea of going to the Toni and Guy academy for 5 pounds but didn't want to risk it. I settled for some chic salon in Soho and while I wasn't very happy when I left, it's a good haircut, just a fair bit shorter than I wanted. And ya'll know how attached I can get to my locks.

Swedish school is still going. I think next week will be half way. I'm really enjoying it and definitely getting better. There's still a LOT to learn/practice though.

My first interview (at Data Connection) was 1pm on Thursday. I arrived way too early (because I wanted to be on the safe side) and found myself in a small suburb where nothing opened until 12pm. The area was quite nice though and I'm pretty sure I met a leprechaun. The interview process was quite gruelling. A short presentation on the company followed by 3 aptitude tests (just like IQ tests) and 4 problem solvings tests over about 2 and a half hours. There was a postgrad and a summer intern interviewing as well. After all the tests there was a one on one interview where the problem solving answers were discussed along with general questions. While I wasn't that happy with my answers the rest of the interview went swimmingly. I decided that I really wanted the job and found myself home in just 20 minutes! AMAZING!

Dinner that night was to say good bye to Ratty who'd been on-and-off staying with us for a month. We went to a pub called the Salisbury (right near where I lived for my first month in London). I ordered a vege burger and didn't eat it all :(

Next day was my second interview (Imagination Technologies). I once again arrived way too early (actually, eariler this time) and was once again in a fairly uninspiring part of outer-London. The highlight was finding the now-defunct Ovaltine headquarters. This interview was more orthodox. I was interviewed by three different managers (each of whom was interested in hiring me for their respective departments). Questions ranged from 'Do you intend on staying here longer than a year?' through 'What's your ideal job?' to a whole heap of problem-solving and lateral thinking questions. I was quite satisfied with how I went and it seemed they were two. At the end one of the managers told me he'd be very suprised if I didn't hear a positive response early the following week. That felt good! The work they do is really interested so I'd be happy to work there.

That night Charissa, Peter and I went to a Club PopJustice in Soho. It was quite a lot of fun dancing to pop until about 2.30am before unsuccessfully chasing the N29 down Charing Cross Rd.

Saturday night was drinks to celebrate a friend's unexpected visa approval. Meaning she doesn't have to go home anymore. I didn't drink any alcohol but found a new love in pints of post-mix cola (no ice).

Sunday the weather was amazing; no sun but a beautfiul 21 all day. It's a amazingly green outside and full of chirping birds. I had a deep afternap half hanging out my window.

And then today Laura, Mon and I went to Brick Lane where I had a bad cream-cheese bagel and a good barbecued corn cob. And then Green park where I relaxed in the shadey grass and had a look at Buckingham Palace. The palace is big but not that great to look at. And the guards reminded me of a bad Movie World entertainment show. Nice gardens though. The day finished with a stroll round the extravagant Harrods.

Tomorrow I should hear back about both jobs (nervous!) and have a phone interview for Codian and Tandberg. Right now I'm really tired and want to sleep.

And another interview

2008-04-29T22:54:00.002+01:00

This time it's a phone interview and only lasts half an hour. It's the third company I previosly mentioned (Codian) and the one I did an online test for on the weekend.

Should the phone interview be successful I'll then graduate to the industry-standard half day interview.

What this company does looks quite facinating so I'm a little bit excited.

I've started Twittering

2008-04-29T22:47:00.003+01:00

I've discovered a new next-big-thing internet feature called Twitter. Pretty much it's just like Facebook status on steroids.

I'll be now updating 'what I am doing' via SMS and it'll display to the right on my blog. Nifty feature. I'll try and keep it from being mundane but no promises.

If you wish you can sign up to Twitter and 'follow me' which gives you can update evertyime I update but that's a bit hardcore.

www.twitter.com

London Mayor Election

2008-04-28T21:47:00.003+01:00

On May 1st London is holding an election for Mayor. As a commonwealth citizen living in London I'm (surprisingly to me) allowed to vote.

The media coverage of the election race has actually been quite entertaining. The two main contenders are the incumbent (of 8 years*) ex-communist-leaning 'Red Ken' from the troubled Labor party and the Ted E. Bear impersonating Boris from the Conversative party. The two token-mentions-in-the-media contenders are the gay ex-policeman from the Liberal Democrats and the attractive, young scienctist from the Green Party.

Anyway, it seems to be neck and neck between Boris and Ken and quite frankly the thought of this guy running London scares me.

*London has only had a mayor for 8 years

Simon Amstell Stand-Up

2008-04-26T16:27:00.002+01:00

Last night Laura and I trekked out to what was almost London surburbia (Finchley) to see much-loved comedian Simon Amstell do some stand-up.

For those who aren't familiar he hosts the hilarious Never Mind The Buzzcocks show (see: YouTube) and use to co-host Pop World.

To be quite honest, his style of humour isn't suited to stand-up and it felt at times that he was really struggling on stage, though that was also part of his schtick. That said, it was still really enjoyable and great just seeing him in the flesh. Unfortunately his smashing dress sense seems to be confined to his TV appearances.

Goodbye Beautiful Big Black Coat

2008-04-26T11:27:00.007+01:00

Well it's finally happened, Spring has properly set in, though boy did it take its time. It's currently 18C outside and that's really not coat-wearing weather and so I've swapped to just the leather jacket and I doubt the coat will get any action (other than a dry-clean) till late Autumn.

Being a lover of the cold it's a little bit sad for me but I can't deny that the weather is absolutely beautiful right now. Out my window it's sunny, green, flowery and the perfect temperature.

And on that note I'm off to buy an expensive suit for next week's interviews!

update: just came home from shopping and the novelty of the sun wore off very, very quickly.

Svenska Skolan (Swedish School)

2008-04-23T22:01:00.002+01:00

A while ago I signed up to Swedish school through Cactus. One pays a lot of many and then participates in tutorial-style classes for 2hrs once a week for 10 weeks.

I just came home from my third lesson. I'm really enjoying it and it's nice to get some speaking practice (hard to do on your own). It's nice to be back in a learning environment. There're are a range of courses at different levels and by year's end I'll hopefully have completed my current and the next one and then competently speak basic conversational Swedish!

Then I can go back to Sweden and feel less stupid. :)

My never-ending job serach as it stands

2008-04-23T16:40:00.008+01:00

So it's all looking a bit more positive. These are the companies that I am currently pursuing:

Imagination Technologies
Data Connection
Codian/Tandberg

The first looked at my resume and asked me to do an online test (which I completed this morning). I'm pretty sure I passed it, just waiting to hear back from them.

The second I did a GIANT online application for and have a 5hr interview scheduled for May 1st.

The third was applied to on my behalf by an agency just yesterday.

I would be delighted to work for any of these companies as they have pretty sweet work conditions and their operations look exciting.

P.S. I also applied to Google but don't expect to hear back from them. They don't bother contacting you in the case of a negative result, unfortunately.

update: i now have two interviews (second is for Imagination Technologies)

update2: now have to do ANOTHER online test and if successful will have a third interview. also applied to Sortex.

Gig Update

2008-04-21T15:29:00.002+01:00

So I went to Bjork again. It was amazing, again, of course. A few different songs and an extra guest in Einar Örn. I must say though, the whole experience is so much more intense and enjoyable at the front.

And this morning I found out that Johann Johannson and Max Richter are playing London in June.

My previous embedded YouTube clips were deleted so I'll put up Bjork's amazing new video.

01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar
02. Earth Intruders
03. Hunter
04. Unison
05. All Is Full Of Love
06. Hope
07. The Pleasure Is All Mine
08. Dull Flame Of Desire
09. Vertebrae By Vertebrae
10. Where Is The Line
11. Desired Constellation
12. Army Of Me
13. I Miss You
14. Triumph Of A Heart
15. Vökuró
16. Wanderlust
17. Hyperballad
18. Pluto

encore
19. Anchor Song
20. Declare Independence

Freecycle; Or My New Panasonic Hifi

2008-04-19T21:42:00.010+01:00

When we moved into our house (which yes, I haven't blogged about yet, I'm getting there) a friend of a flatmate suggested we sign up to freecycle.org to help fill our vacant house with useful things like toasters and kettles that we otherwise couldn't (didn't want to) afford.

The concept is simple. Electronic groups of people form according to location (through Yahoo! groups) and when someone has something to give away, they send out an email to the rest, receive a ridiculous number of replies and then select a lucky person to pick up the good. And I absolutely adore the idea. If only I knew about Brisbane's happening Freecycle group when I had my whole bedroom's contents of very useful stuff to give away before I moved to London.

I've been signed up to Freecycle for a while now but just last Wednesday night while in a nightclub in Soho (yes, I check my emails too often) someone sent out an email offering a whole heap of stuff that included a Panasonic hifi system. Since I'd been intending to buy some sort of speakers to remove the pain of listening to music over laptop speakers I gave it a shot and sent and email off (yes, while still in the nightlub).

Next morning, a happy phonecall, a trip to (and from) an adjoining suburb on the bus and I have my new toy. And I've ordered a stereo to rca cable from ebay for 2 pounds so i can hook my iPod up to it for extra happy!

Right now I'm listening to Virgin Party Classics (AM) and it's probably the best station I've heard. Thanks Freecycle!

freecycle.org

Björk @ Hammersmith Apollo, 14/04/08

2008-04-15T11:46:00.007+01:00

So the sunny turned to cloudy, and the dry turned to wet and the wet turned to icey but not enough to deter us. I did have to jump out of the line to find a toilet (the cider we were drinking went straight through).

Doors opened reasonably on time and we scooted in to find ourselves just left-of-centre and one-off the barrier. This was what we'd spent the last 2.5 hrs trying to achieve and it was probably worth it. I shortly after came to the realisation that the wait was not yet over and there'd be at least anohter two hours.

Just before 8 the support act (I don't know who) interrupted the fantastic music to play some avant-garde DJ-mixing stuff that, while I appreciated it, I was totally not in the mood for. After about 45mins she finished and I was left to wait in relative silence.

Then she came on wearing this:

Björk doesn't like photos being taken at her shows, thus I have only press photos to show.

The show was similar, but sufficiently different, from when I saw her at Big Day Out. As previously, she opened with Earth Intruders this time with giant fire blasts from the back which I was sure were going to burn the flammable-looking set. The heat from them was intense. The crowd were much more subdued here also. We were treated to guests Toumani Diabaté and Antony Hegarty (a really nice psuedo-surprise). It doesn't come across in the video so much but Antony has the most amazingly awkward strage presence. A weirdly captivating beast.

For me, the star of the show, second only to Björk, was the reacTable. And 3 large TVs were on stage to showcase her.

As expected the finale was Declare Independence, which was essentially all that I was present to see. It's one of my favourites, if not favourite, songs to hear live. Just fucking amazing.

01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar
02. Earth Intruders
03. Hunter
04. Unravel
05. Hope
06. The Pleasure Is All Mine
07. Dull Flame Of Desire
08. Jóga
09. Vertebrae By Vertebrae
10. Desired Constellation
11. Army Of Me
12. Innocence
13. Who Is It
14. Vökuró
15. Wanderlust
16. Hyperballad
17. Plutoencore
18. Anchor Song
19. Declare Independence

Jóga - http://youtube.com/watch?v=wg0FI7eWMl8

Hyperballad - http://youtube.com/watch?v=UKqkYZjm9ko

Pluto - http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZGz9gS0JCW8

(I'm seeing her again on Sunday)

I'm Glad We're Late

2008-04-14T16:44:00.004+01:00

Peter wanted to get here at 3pm (doors open at 7pm). We just arrived and it's 4.30pm. It's both hot and sunny and cold and wet. The sky is blue. It was completely cloudy when we arrived 10 mins ago.

As you can see there aren't many people here but they are consistently (and slowly) building up. Please note the blonde boy with his waiting face on on the right. That's me.

I've Been Bad, Haven't I?

2008-04-14T14:10:00.005+01:00

I haven't blogged for a month and a half as many of you have noticed (and then reported back to me). I apologise for that. I'm shifting the blame onto the fact that it took so long to get internet in this house and the internet cafes in this area are painful.

Rather than trying to catch up everything chronologically I'm just going to start blogging things as I feel (haphazardly). Both from the computer (retrospectively) and from my phone (instantly). I'll start tonight from the Björk gig I'm going at Hammersmith Apollo. It's been confirmed that Tounami Diabaté will be playing with her tonight. I've also read that the London gigs are being filmed for DVD but that's probably bullshit.

Peter is adamant that he wants to get to the front so it's 3.30pm right now and we're about to head out to Hammersmith on the tube :S

Sweden Catchup

2008-02-20T14:19:00.005Z

So the blogging in Sweden started out alright and then collapsed. Sorry guys! I'll now try and give a quick overview of what I got up to.

On my first (full) day I met up with an old school friend, Jakob, at Hagakyrkan (a church) and went to his university's cafeteria for lunch. I ate a baguette with some sort of Swedish shrimp mornay (I don't even know what mornay is) for which I was left pining for for the rest of my trip. Yum! I mentioned to Jakob my quest to replace my beloved, and lost, Cheap Mondays (Swedish Jeans) and so he took me straight to the source, a shop called Weekdays where I found exactly what I was looking for for 400sek. We then had a expensive (but good) coffee (okay, it was actually mocha and hot chocolate) at a fair trade cafe, where Jakob helped me with my first Swedish practice - Jag tar Moccha, Tack.

That night an Icelandic band of which I had heard of but not heard called 'Benni Hemm Hemm' were playing at Pustervik (not far from my backpackers). I'm rarely won over by bands just from live shows but I would describe them as 'amazing'. I even bought a t-shirt, whoa! One of the guys from the band informed me that he was touring Australia with Mum later this year. Oh, I should also mention that it was at Pustervik that I indulged in 'Cactus Cider'. WTF? It wasn't repulsive but I sha'n't be having it again.

Post-Pustervik we headed to a club called Uppåt Framåt (Upwards Forwards) which I quickly fell in love with. The music was unknown but completely likeable (something that's very rare) and the decor (mainly the bar) was awesome too. Had a couple of Pear Ciders there and went home. Unfortunately didn't return :( Probably next time.

Next day I woke up late (backpacker bed was great) and then just went for a walk by myself though the city. Looking at shops things. All I bought was some discounted Cheap Monday gloves and two bottles of cider (one blueberry and one flower blossoms..???) from the System Bolaget. Swedish government has a monopoly on the sale of alcohol (except light beer and light cider) and so alcohol must be bought from a System Bolaget which close about 8pm. That night I went to a housewarming gathering of Jakob's friends and then onto a club called Svanen (The Swan) which was freakishly similar to the Depot. We stayed till close and I implemented my new-found ability to always be able to find my way home in Gothenburg no matter where I am.

Friday I slept till 4pm (I tell you, it was a good bed!) and I decided I should probably get some rest. I forget what I did for the rest of the day but I'm sure it was uneventful but nice.

Saturday was when I went up to Slottsskogen's and took a bagillion photos. Lots of pretty flaura and captive fauna to look at. I'll let the pictures (they're on facebook) describe it rather than my blog.

Saturday night I went to a gathering (once again, Jakob's friends) where I confirmed that, yes, all Swedish interiors do look like IKEA show rooms, and all swedish apartments/houses have 'shoe rooms'. A room for shoes. And jackets. It's the first room you step into as you enter the house and yes, you MUST take your shoes off. The night was enjoyable, everyone spoke in Swedish (except when speaking directly to me) so I had little idea what was going on, but I don't mind that. I spent most of the time trying to follow topics of conversation based on my poor Swedish lsitening ability. Later on we all headed to a night club but the lineup was huge and I was tired so we went home making a few stops along the way.

Sunday I caught up with another friend and Monday I decided to go on a massive walk around the city trying to cover as little familiar ground as possible. The walk was fun. Saw a lot interesting sites and took some photos. Ate at a place called Cafe Tin Tin. And got sore legs.

Tuesday I left and I was pretty sad to leave even though I was looking forward to going back to London. I'll definitely be back. All the locals say it's amazing in Spring, so maybe I should take their word for it.

Fat Tuesday

2008-02-05T22:43:00.000Z

I just finished eating an apple and cream-filled cardamon bun called 'Semla'. Oh, whoops, that didn't come out right. I haven't taken to naming my food before I eat it, that's the Swedish word for the food. Anyway, it was pretty great. They were being sold on the street as part of an event called 'Fat Tuesday' which after a while my super-detective skills figured out is in fact the Swedish equivalent of Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday. It is not much of a religious event here, though.

So I arrived in Göteborg today and met a friend at the airport who drove me to Slottsskogen's Vamdrarhem (backpacker's) and then showed me around the city. It is typical English weather here at the moment (infact, more so than London), but I don't mind. Unfortunately there's no sign or expectation of snow. They have trams here, I like trams. And we had to press a button and get a ticket number and queue (there was no queue) to buy the tram pass. Pressing buttons to get numbered tickets and queuing (like at a supermarket deli) is a common Swedish past time (so I've read) and so this was a little exciting.

After being shown around the city my friend took me out to dinner at a Thai restaurant and that was delicious (paneng tofu curry). Thai always wins! I went back to the vandrarhem, met and chatted with two Swedish mature-age students in the room and soon after went to sleep. I was exhausted (again!) and this was the first comfortable bed I've had since leaving Australia, and thus I didn't get out until 1.15pm!!!

Freedom

2008-02-05T22:32:00.000Z

Today I experienced the strongest feeling of freedom I have ever. Walking through Standsted Airport by myself as I headed to the RyanAir check-in for Gothenburg it was almost palpable. It was the feeling I've been longing for for so long. The one I first tasted when I moved out of home. I want to bottle it.

So then we went House Hunting!

2008-02-05T21:48:00.000Z

I didn't really recover from my sickness/exhaustion as well as I'd hoped, but fucked if I was staying in the house any longer than 3 days.

So we went out drinking in the infamous Camden. First to The World's End which is an absolute maze of a pub/club. It's advisable to take a rucksuck of basic supplies if you want to venture to the toilet because you may not make it back otherwise. And then we moved onto The Cuban Bar, which, disappointingly, lived up to it's name with live Cuban music. Not mah thang.

Anyway on Saturday Laura, Charissa, Monica and I had the exciting (well, atleast for me) task of viewing potential rental properties. Two houses, both in Finsbury Park. Both were pretty good, although one a tad expensive and by the time we got in contact with the agent about the other it was gone *sad*. I think we're in some sort of negotions for the more expensive one and still looking, maybe at a cheap place much closer to the city in Islington. Fingers crossed. I'm really excited about having my own little pad in London.

On Sunday I rested and blogged a little more before heading out for a Bangladeshi (sp?) dinner in Brick Lane. It was pretty shit. Tasteless and I was grumpy. And FFS would restaurants please stop using supermarket-style frozen chopped vegetables in dishes. It's not cool.

Oh, and one other thing I wanted to mention, on Monday night I went shopping on Oxford St and am now the proud owner of my first coat. I heart it but still feel reall awkward wearing it. Was only £10 pound too. Bargain Hunter! Got a scarf and beanie/cap thing too. I'm totally a winter person now.

Another Spare Moment

2008-02-03T14:12:00.000Z

Okay, so I never actually finished the blog last Thursday, and now it’s Sunday, and I’ve managed to find a spare moment to write some more. We’re in the living room watching The Mighty Boosh and Laura’s making some swt, swt shortbread. I’ll start where I trailed off last time.

So I was meant to be going out for Indian that night in Brick Lane with Laura and her friend, and for this reason I did. On the way we went to a small English pub, where there were as many people (men) drinking outside on the street as there were inside. Then we made our way to Brick Lane and on arriving were ‘attacked’ by restaurant workers trying to coax us into their restaurants with promises of discounts and alcohol. Laura’s friend Beth managed to negotiate 25% off and one and a half pints of cider for each of us. Score! Dinner was great (cheap!) and we got drunk and made our way home. I’ll make sure to go back there many times.

The next day was Australia Day. I was a little apprehensive about our plans to spend the day in a Walk-a-bout (chain of Australian pubs), but that’s what was organized and we could at least listen to the hot 100 which had been recorded and was being played back. We arrived at 10.30. The pub was quite empty but still thick with unsettling patriotism. Over the course of the day, the pub packed out and it all became more and more difficult to bare. Charissa had arrived during the day and at about 4pm we moved downstairs where we could actually hear the countdown and people cared about it slightly more. At #25 they made the predictable and frustrating decision to stop the countdown, play some painful Australian pub rock and elongate the whole situation. Charissa and I figured this would be a great opportunity for her to show me the nearby Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Soho etc.

On apprehensively returning to the Walk-a-bout I was slightly relieved to see a giant line to get back in. The line wasn’t moving. We waited there for a while before Charissa went to check out another pub in the area that was also playing the countdown. Half an hour later she returned, I’d move about 1m in the line and so we (with Laura) headed to a much less painful bar with more levels, nooks and crannies than the other place had bogans but also spare tables and chairs! We sat, chatted, Charrissa’s friend Peter joined us, drank and vaguely cared about the fact that Muse beat Silverchair by 12 votes.

At about 8.30pm Peter took us a nearby club called Trash Palace were we drank, chatted and dance and didn’t make it to bed till 4am after a long bus ride. I was more tired than I’ve ever been. I’d started to get sleepy around 10 hours earlier. Next day I woke at 2.30pm and made my way home on the tube and spent the rest of the evening in a daze, making shortbread and not noticing when Laura spoke to me.

Monday morning was catching up on organizational crap and webcamming with my family. Monday arve I caught up with Monica who had finally gotten over her jet slag for some fashion shopping and English pub meal. Monday evening I caught up with Peter and went for coffee (well, Mocha) in Soho.

Tuesday was fucked. Woke up at 12.35 and remembered I had a 1.30 booking for an ‘induction’ info meeting and bank account sign up. I leapt out of bed, threw on my clothes, raced to Laura’s work to pick up my passport and then onto FirstContact (where the ‘meething’ thing was) just 20mins late. The whole thing was really painful. The room looked like a uni lecture room and, I felt like a uni student – too tired to concentrate. But two and a half painful hours later I had a free umbrella (ella…ella) and an HSBC bank account.

The rest of the evening was painful. I walked around Oxford St waiting for Peter to finish work feeling like I was going to collapse from exhaustion. I went home after a couple of hours at Starbucks and that’s where I spent the next 72hours trying to recover.

My First English Rain

2008-01-31T13:18:00.000Z

Well it’s Thursday, my 9^th day in London and I’m sitting in Laura’s room recovering from exhaustion/sickness. It’s raining outside, the first time since I’ve been here and rather than go out and catch another cold I’m attempting to catch my blog up on one of my most physically- and emotionally-hectic weeks…

My departure hiccupped before even leaving the ground. An inoperable emergency exit light in combination with strict airline regulations created a 3 hr delay. It wasn’t until negotiations between QANTAS and some authority was met and their staff managed to convince 60 customers without connecting flights to divert through Sydney (ouch!) were we allowed to board the plane, with the whole middle section cordoned off.

The first leg of the flight was mostly enjoyable. I like flying. I enjoy the challenge of keeping myself occupied in solitary. I probably had enough media to keep me entertained for 20 across-world flights but ended up just watching the back-of-the-seat tele – The Great Global Warming Swindle w/ follow-up ABC commentary, Denton v Elton interview, some Kath and Kim (ick!) etc. The only problem was the ‘friendly’, drunk Australians behind me who kept bumping the back of my seat for the whole 7 hours. They asked me to have coffee with them on arrival in London…I smiled and nodded reluctantly and was delighted to find out that on the second leg that the hangovers had well and truly set in and they weren’t so friendly.

At Singapore it was a bit Rush Rush Rush Go Here No There Now Wait Wait? Why? Get On Plane. Despite still making it (just) in time for the connecting flight we were rescheduled onto another flight half an hour later. My only concern was that I was now flying QANTAS instead of British Airways and had lost my window seat. Hmmf!

To my left was an old Swedish lady with athritis (who spoke less English than I do Swedish) and to my right, a European couple who also spoke no English (I found that out the awkward way). Despite getting up every hour on the first flight I spent the next 13 hours seated, much to the delight of the curled-up fingers beside me I’m sure. I slept most of the flight, mainly just waking for meals, and that was nice.

The feeling of real cold (not the uncomfortable airconditioning cold which irked me during the whole flight) on my skin as I stepped from the plane through the tunnel brought a smile to my face. I don’t know why, but it still does everytime I step outside the house. It’s just comforting, as if familiar. Anyway, the passport check, immigration ‘grilling’ (‘Do you know the Working Visa rules?’, ‘Yes’, ‘Okay’) and customs took a grand total of about 1 minute. I was amazed.

I met with my friend Laura who’d been nice enough to wake up at 5am to collect me on her way to work and make my arrival a whole lot easier. She organized for me my own Oyster card which is a multi-purpose swipe card for London transport and we caught the Piccadilly line for a 32 stop journey from Heathrow to Turnpike Lane where Laura lives. On the above-ground parts of the journey we passed many typically-English sights and I couldn’t help but contrast my emotions with those of arriving in New York. There wasn’t the excitement or surrealism experienced when finding myself in Brooklyn but more relief, and more strongly, contentment. Like I’d finally reached the place I’d spent my life trying to get to (I hadn’t).

Laura left me part way through the journey to go to work and gave me the simple instructions to get off the tube at the station ‘Turnpike Lane’. You’d think that I’d be able to follow those instructions, right? Well, of course I could, and I did. There I met another friend, Charissa, who coincidentally lives nearby and walked (and bussed) me to Laura’s place (via Tesco’s for sandwiches).

I’d previously decided that I was going to dedicate all physical and emotional energy of the first couple of days into combating Jet Lag in the hope of recovering as quickly as possible. And so I spent this whole day sitting on Laura’s bed playing with the internet and trying to keep myself awake. It worked. I stayed awake until Laura came home, we ate dinner, constructed my floor bed and then went to sleep.

Next morning I woke at 5.30am and in typical jet-lag style I felt as if I’d slept about 10 mins. Getting up and having breakfast I found myself in pain and feeling completely miserable. By 9am I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, went to sleep for 3 hrs, woke up feeling comparatively a million dollars and then went out for lunch with Charissa to my first English pub. Lunch was a vegeburger (deep-fried pattie...wtf?!?) and chips with a pint of cider for 4.50. Yum! Post-lunch Charissa took me to the place she’s staying and introduced me to their 5 gorgeous (well, all but one) cats. I hung out there for a while and Charissa gave me a rundown on essential information I had to learn (such as how to find out about and book gig tickets) and then I scooted home to get ready to go out.

That night it had been organized well in advance that I was heading out to see a local band of whom Charissa was a friend and fan and Laura a fan. I caught the tube (by myself…yay!) to the infamous Camden, met up with Laura and her friend and headed to the markets to have some ‘two pound, two pound, everything two pound! Wanna try some? Two pound!’ asian food. It was pretty tastey except I put half it on my jeans. We walked around a little aimlessly under the lead of Laura before finding a small, cosy and well-laid-out Bullet Bar with stools, tables and Bullmer tallies (hi tim!). After some unpleasant sound-checking, The Gadsdens played for about 20mins and I quite enjoyed them. Charissa introduced us to her Slovakian friend she’d met in London and we chatted for a short while before heading home, much to the delight of my fatigue.

The next morning was always going to be a challenge. To do for Monica (who’d flown over hot on my trail) what Laura had done for me two days prior. Getting up early wasn’t a problem (thx, Jet Lag!) but the one and a half hour nauseas journey was, but I was totally happy to do it. After meeting Mon and having a mocha and sandwhich at the airport’s starbucks, we set out on a scavenger-hunt-like journey around the city to find her friend and future flatmate’s work. By the time we met up it had been about 2.5hrs of lugging luggage down a busy street and I was ready to collapse. So I did (at home).

Unfortunately the sleep only went for an hour (half an hour of which my alarm spent trying to wake me) and boy did I feel like road kill after that. I was meant to be going…

Ready, Set, Go!

2008-01-21T23:41:00.001Z

So I'm at Mel and Josh's place and, surprisingly, I have some time to spare (read: stress) . After the whole visa saga, which I've spared this blog, I've been left still not quite convinced this is my last few hours in Australia and that soon I'll be in London.

The goodbyes have sucked. Not just because they're sad but because I'm so terrible at them. I should have googled for tips and hints prior.

Anyway, cept for some possible phone-blogging, this'll be my last till London. This is what I'll greet the Queen in:

Fuck I'm tired.

Some Things Have Changed

2007-11-29T05:20:00.000Z

Last I blogged I was nested in my Roseglen St bedroom which, had he been there, would've caused my dad to remark on cue 'It's like a brothel in here!' (I've never really understood that similie, I've always though that key ingredients to a brothel would be a prostitute and a certain smell, not a months worth of scattered clothes and a trees worth of study notes, but anyway...), I was probably eating instant noodles, vegemite on toast or dominoes pizza and spending countless hours whinging via the internet about how much I hate uni as I plodded through my last 4 assignments and braced myself for my last 4 exams.

Now I'm laying back on a verandah in Mackay over-looking the north-side with a most-pleasant sugar-laced breeze while internetting on a laptop and listening to iPod tunes over a decent sound system (oh, and since you asked, it's Britney (,bitch)). Hmm...one sounds considerably nicer, I think.

Anyway, since then I've finished my degrees (5 years!); celebrated ; packed, moved and cleaned (I never want to smell spray-and-wipe again) out of Roseglen St and flown to Mackay. Oh, and played my (insignificant) part in removing the Howard regime; my first vote and I look forward to doing it again 2010/2011.

Now my biggest concern is how best to spend my days relaxing and going to the optometrist, orthodontist, doctor and dentist (to trial contact lenses again, check if my teeth have moved much without retainers, find out if I need to get any needles before heading overseas and give my poorly-maintained mouth a complete overhaul).

Two more weeks of this and then back to Brisbane to don a hideous gown and be presented a fake testamur.

Oh, Hello Blog!

2007-11-03T03:52:00.000Z

So, I haven't blogged for a while. Missing from this URL is the last one and a half weeks of my New York holiday (the pressure of documenting everything just got too much and imploded, and I probably would've spent most of the type bitching about a) leaving NY b) being in LA) and also the last 3 months of my life. Not that it's been very exciting. My university student lifestyle in Brisbane doesn't really match up to my stint in the city that never sleeps.

I have been busy, though. Busy procrastinating my studies. And sometimes busy studying. It doesn't matter if you're busy studying or busy procrasinating, one still feels stressed and under pressure with the giant work load constantly looming above them.

It's all over (seventeen years of it!) in two weeks. Pretty sure I'm going to consume the world's entire supply of euphoria on that date.

Anyway, the main thing I wanted to document was that I just booked my BNE --> LDN flight. (It's been hard slog working myself up to doing it). Flying Qantas and British Airways and was fortunate enough to use the 'rent's Frequent Flyers/Credit Card award points that have been accumulating over the past deacade. So I just had to pay taxes. It's a pretty quick flight; just a short stop in Singapore.

22/01/08
13:45 : Depart Brisbane
19:30 : Arrive Singapore

22:55 : Depart Singapore

23/01/08
04:50 : Arrive London

No return flight. How delightful!

Yay 4 Lazy Day!

2007-07-13T02:41:00.001+01:00

So on Tuesday Suze went shopping, which I really didn't want to do, and so instead I stayed home in the AC (it was dammed hot), caught up on my blogging and did the washing.

'Blah blah you're in new york you should do something blah'. Whatever. It was a fun day and I can't be all go go go for a whole month. Oh and I really needed clean underwear so it was totally productive.

Art Brut

2007-07-13T00:46:00.000+01:00

Had tickets to see Art Brut. Except I didn't actually 'have' tickets. They were 'will call' (where your ticket's on the door)...or so I thought. When I got there, my ticket wasn't there. After a short walk (trying to find an internet cafe) I remembered they were actually 'print out and bring' tickets...i'd printed out but not brought...oops. The ticketmaster guy was cool: 'i'll just get my manager and he can access the system and sort it out'. Yay! But no :( Manager: 'Unfortunately...blah blah...new policy...you didn't print yr tickets out...blah..*stern look*'. So then the other guy was nice enough to search the internets to find the nearest internet cafe (about 15 blocks away) to print my tickets out.

So I went for a walk from Chelsea through East Village, which was kinda nice, found the internet cafe with the no-speak-much-English lady, printed out my ticket and walked back. I got back just as support band White Rabbits were finishing. Was kinda glad about that as I was sure I was going to hate them.

So Art Brut came on. They were pretty great. I'm not sure why I like them (ironic and hilarious lyrics are not enough). But I do, a lot. And they were great live. Both musically and showmanshiply. The show was full of underage girls (which is legal in this state). Ugh.

Here's some pics:

I have Buzz Cola!!!

2007-07-13T00:34:00.000+01:00

I had a few hours to spare between MoMA and a gig later that night so I went for another walk through Time's Square to the Kwik-E-Mart to see if they had replenished their stocks of Buzz Cola. And Huzzah!

I found a fridge full of them and there was no purchase limit, so I bought 3. Will post a pic of what they look like if I stop feeling lazy later on. Will probably drink one before I leave if I need to lighten my luggage.

MoMA

2007-07-13T00:16:00.000+01:00

On Monday a friend took us to the Musuem of Modern Art and got us in for half price. The main temporal attration was an exhibition Richard Serra's sculptures. Most of his smaller (and earlier) work just looked like shit you'd find lying around in an old shed to my uncultured eye but his large iron sculptures were great to walk through. They looked something like this:

Walking through the figure 8 one was lots of fun. I did it twice.

There was also on display a large collection of significant artworks from their permanent collection, a photography exhibition and one entitled 'What is Paining?' but by far my exhibition was the 'Architecture and Design Galleries' (the 'Design' part) which showcased significant significant designs of the past and currently developing methods. My favourites were products designed using Rapid Manufacturing and a method for digitally weaving cloth such that it doesn't unravel when you cut it (more interesting in practice, than theory). Also enjoyed the '50 years of Helvetica' display.

After we were kicked out of the museum at close we spent ages in their fantastic design store full of very expensive but awesome things that are fun to play with, look at, and maybe buy.

Tortoise & Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid & Another Band

2007-07-11T04:07:00.000+01:00

So we left the pool party early to get some rest before this much-looked-forward-to gig. Suze <3 Kieran & James <3 Tortoise. And both were keen to see the other. Webster Hall was a fantastic venue. Multiple levels of vintage elegance. The toilet bowls/basis glowed green. And there was a man sitting behind a hardwood bar IN THE TOILET selling all manner of things, but mainly candy. There was a fancy looking balcony from which to watch the band, but unfortunately, on this particular night, it was VIP-only. The first band played. I forget their name. The creative force behind the band was both singer and drummer, which was a fresh change (you know, like, Spiderbait). His music was funky, erratic and pretty fantastic, which makes me wish I knew who they were. And if I wasn't so lazy I could probably just ask Google sternly.

And then Hebden and Reid played. This was also pretty great, but undoutbedly my favourite part was Steve Reid's drumming. Steve's a 63 year old American Jazz drummer who's played with some great names and has a hell of a lot of energy for an old man. The way played was just mesmerizing. And it's made me more bitter about the fact that I've spent a month in NYC and haven't seen any Jazz.

And then Tortoise came out. They played for a very, very long time. I've only heard one album of theirs (TNT) and they played plenty off it and the rest of their sit was completely enjoyable. Just a fantastic gig from some competent (middle-age) muscians.

A most satisfying show.

Pool Party #3

2007-07-11T03:52:00.000+01:00

So we went to yet another free Sunday afternoon pool party. I was really looking forward to this one as my new found music love, Dan Deacon, was playing. I got there fairly early, grabbed by third soy dog and found a nice (warm) spot in the shade. And then Dan Deacon.

Dan plays his shows on the ground i.e. in the audience. Half the crowd were down there surrounding him (with probably about 2% able to see anything) and the other half were on the outskirts hanging around the mist blowers, beer tents, food and shade. We were in the latter half. As much as I enjoy his music it wasn't worth standing in direct sun, in a crowd and still not being able to see anything for. Throughout the show he regularly referred to our 'half' as the 'flickr zone'. Ouch!

So, anyway, his set was short and didn't live up to expectations. He did some sort of dancing competition but, again, we couldn't see anything. I think in a more intimate venue (which he played later that night, but I was unable to go to) he'd be much, much better.

Our view:

Some photographer's view:

Then some other band, Erase Errata, came on and Suze nor I were interested so we went home for a much needed, short rest.

Bar Hopping in Williamsburg

2007-07-11T03:27:00.000+01:00

So after the Cat Power gig we decided to head out in our home suburb. Something we hadn't actually done yet. We made a list of places to go with addresses and then headed off. We went to 5 bars (and unsuccessfully tried to find one). They were okay. But kinda boring. "People don't dance no more, they just stand there like this" (The Rapture).

The highlight of the night was the two bars that provided a whole cheese pizza free with every drink purchased. At the first place we ate three slices between us and gave the rest away. At the second we devoured the whole thing in a bit of a 'where the fuck did all the pizza go' moment.

Oh, and I played some sort of touch-screen game. At first I thought it was some funtastic form of gambling. But it wasn't. It was just silly games like crosswords. And that was a stupid thought because gambling is illegal in New York State.

On the way home we were in the same area where we'd previously seen the movie set and so I tried to find the location again. Instead we came across an abandoned carinval. Which in my drunken haze was a little spooky. It felt like I was in an R.L. Stine choose your own adventure novel. I chose to take quite a few photos and then scoot home.

Oh and I should mention that the Empire State Building changed color to commemorate Live Earth:

Flea Markets & Non-Free Pool Gig

2007-07-10T23:10:00.000+01:00

On this hot day we decided to check out some markets in Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea. The first was outside and I don't cope well with the sun, so I had a quick look (bought a belt) and then had a mango sorbet in the shade followed by a piece of 99c pizza. Ninety-Nine cents!!!

So then we caught a special shuttle bus between that and another market. This one was full of antiques and old things. Old things are nice and all but the idea of owning that stuff is like a nightmare for me. So I had some looks and then left Suze to sort through the tables and tables of stuff while I went to yet another, more commerical market and ate food.

When we got home I checked the time for the gig we had that day that Suze thought was about 7.30pm but it was actually 5pm (and it was 5.30pm at the time). So we scooted down to the McCarren pool to find an 80m line to get in. Grrr. The line took about 40minutes.

By the time we got in Cat Power just came on meaning we'd missed support Built to Spill (or so we thought). I wasn't familiar with Cat Power but really enjoyed her set minus her terrible between-song banter. After she finished everying seemed to stay so we did too only to find that we had the band order wrong and hadn't missed Built to Spill. So we watched that, it was okay, and then went home for a much-needed rest.

Fujiya & Miyagi & Black Moth Super Rainbow

2007-07-10T22:54:00.000+01:00

This free gig was part of the River to River festival which happens over summer. It was a great spot (on a pier) for a gig.

Black Moth Super Rainbow were enjoyable. Lots of nice noise and distorted vocals. Seemed like an odd choice for for a gig so close to many middle-class restaurants. But I guess that's just NYC for ya.

And then Fujiya & Miyagi played. I've listened to their album well over 50 times since I got it so was quite looking forward to the gig. It was good. What I expected, nothing more nothing less. My only gripe was the group nearby shaking a fucking tamborine and blowing a whistle for the sole purpose of shitting people off. From what I gathered he was annoyed because he coudln't busk in the area due to the gig.

South St Seaport Pier 17

2007-07-10T22:39:00.000+01:00

We had no idea what this was but there was a gig there later that night and despite being about 3 hours early we went there to check it out, and thankfully.

There were shops, decks over the East River with great views of the Brooklyn Bridge and parts of Brooklyn and restaurants.

There was a Butterfly shop opposite a Bonsai store. How fabulous!

We spent some time staring at this view:

We spotted an iPhone in the wild:

All iPhones I've been in the public have been in the hands of Asians.

We still had more time to waste so we found the restaurant with the best view of the stage. And then worked our way to the table with the best view (this caused a bit of a kerfuffle but that wasn't our fault!).

I don't have any photos from the restaurant (I think Suze does) but we had a 180 degree view with a (surprisingly quiet) expressway and tall buildings on one side and a large sail boat and river on the other. It was really nice.

So we ate our KFC-on-a-white-plate (followed by a delicious, hot pan-baked cookie with icecream and chocolate fudge) while watching the support and then left for the main band.

Wall St

2007-07-10T22:28:00.000+01:00

We happened to pass through Wall St while walking back from Ground Zero. This area was full of impressive, old sandstone buildings with great significance.

A very secure bank. According to an info sign, it had some great historical significance. The owners chose to build such a low building on such expensive land to flaunt their wealth. The building was, however, built with the strength to support a 40-story building. A car bomb went off many years ago across the street outside this building.

(In this picture is a black christian man yelling a lot. These people are very common in NYC)

The bank had two of these guys at the door. Guns scare me. And I was scared.

Stock Exchange:

And the Trump Building:

Ground Zero

2007-07-10T22:10:00.000+01:00

We had time to spare between getting off the Staten Island ferry and a free gig later that night so we walked to Ground Zero.

The site is currently being reconstructed and is currently a pit. I read in the New York Times that they are still searching for bodies.

Here's some pictures from the first viewing site:

(There was a guy selling drinks 4m infront of this sign)

And from another vantage point:

At the first site there was the (reconstructed) fire station which was first to respond to the disaster:

The atmosphere was (not overly) solemn. I saw one lady crying. The fireman were posing for photos and one was even dancing (wtf?).

There was an inside tour with salvaged items etc which we didn't do.

Liberty Enlightening the World aka Statue of Liberty

2007-07-10T21:55:00.000+01:00

So on this day we decided to go to see the Statue of Liberty, just because that's what you're meant to go when you go to NYC.

There is a Liberty ferry that drives around the island and costs money. Alternatively you can get the free Staten Island ferry which goes past. And then get the return trip back. Supposedly the ferry use to cost one quarter but it was too much effort to collect the money and so it was made free. And the government is trying to encourage people to live on Staten Island (the Ipswich/Sarina of NYC).

Here's some photos of the green lady and other pics taken from the boat:

The boat was big and fun and had a cafe on it.

Whitney Museum

2007-07-10T21:41:00.001+01:00

So we went to the Whitney Musuem of American Art. No photography allowed.

They had a special two-floor exhibition called the Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era which was more interesting historically than from an artistic perspective. We had audio guides which mostly played music from the time while we watched the art. I quite enjoyed the whole psycedelic style, pretty colours and all that.

There was also a Rudolf Stingel (who doesn't seem to have a wiki article) exhibition on display which was by far my favorite. Most of his works of art were larger than life. My favorite piece is shown on this site, though it's a little hard to appreciate from that tiny image. It's a block of Styrofoam with footprints eaten away by acid (or similar). Here's a larger image of a similar piece:

There was also a room not unlike this:

It was thick aluminum foil on foam and you could write on it by making indents.

There was also an exhibition called 'Profiling' which raised questions about video surveillance and classification, which was rather interesting given that I'd just spent a semester working in that field.

Independence Day Fireworks

2007-07-10T21:19:00.001+01:00

So we went up on our roof and watched the fireworks. We had an excellent view. The weather was terrible, rainy and misty but then it cleared up just as the show was about to start.

It was a pretty good fireworks display. Only becaues of Smiley faces, love hearts, stars and cubes and saturns. There's no photos of these so you'll just have to settle for spherical fireworks and trust me on this one.

Here's some NYPD helicopters that flew over beforehand:

A photo of some people on a nieghbouring roof. Roof tops were hives of activity for the duration of the show.

And the FDNY joined in the celebration by shooting coloured streams of water from a barge into the river.

And here's the 'works:

Times Square

2007-07-08T18:52:00.000+01:00

On our trek to the Kwik-E-Mart we stumbled across Times Square. Times Square is kinda what I thought a lot of Manhattan would look like, because I am naive.

We walked around for a while getting a a sore neck while looking at the massive, digitally animated advertising that defines the area. And we also went to:

Toys R Us
M&M World
Hershey's Chocolate Store

Toys R Us was pretty grand. Half tourist attraction, half toy store. The first thing we saw on entry was this ferris wheel.

Hmm...susan took this photo and forgot to include the important part of the ferris wheel that is the carriages you sit in..anyway...

There was lots of big lego constructions:

And I thought this was pretty awesome. Kinda looks like a candy store but each section is filled with hundereds of a certain type of lego block.

The floor was covered in lego pieces and I'd hate to be the person who's job it was to put them all back.

There was a big animated dinosaur that roared:

(I have a video of this but cbf uploading)

And a superman:

And, my fav, a man doing magic tricks (from a magic kit that was on sale):

Next stop was M&M Worlds which we found two giant animated advertisements which could be seen from several blocks away. There's something about 3 large levels dedicated to M&Ms that makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

There was tons and tons of merch...everything imaginable. And of course, lots of M&Ms.

Lots and lots of colors:

And color combinations for every occasion:

And here's some shots from floor 3 looking down to ground floor:

And finally by far the best thing about this store. A machine where you put in two quarters and a penny and then crank the handle 6-8 times and it squashes yr penny into an oval and reprints a new (M&M related-) design. I did it four times and hadn't tired of it.

Then it was over to the Hershey's store which had a v. impressive exterior:

Inside was a whole heap of chocolate that I'd not heard of before. I walked around the store about 10 times...and ended up buying a fair bit of candy. It was meant to be for gifting but I've eaten most of it.

That was about it for Time's Square. It's one of my favourite parts of Manhattan. I'm not sure why. The pretty, colorful lights probably.

(Giant cylindrical screens. Yay!)

(Yellow cabs (4), crowded streets, advertising, mcdonalds....this photo is pretty damn New York, but not that representative of our NYC experience - oh, and you can see the green m&m above m&m world and the hershey's store)

(Suze tells me that Coca Cola bought that advertising space for $1000 a long time ago and it is not worth millions)

I want to go back in the dark time.

Oh, and this is The Laugh Factory, where Kramer got all up in that nigger's grill. But I'm pretty sure that actually occurred at the Laugh Factory in LA.

Who needs a Kwik-E-Mart?

2007-07-06T02:15:00.000+01:00

A long, long time ago I mentioned that 7-11 were negotiating a deal with the promoters of the Simpsons Movie to turn 11 7-11s across the United States into Kwik-E-Marts. Well I hadn't heard about it again until very recently when the transitions happened. And (as expected) one of the stores was in NYC on 42nd St so we made it our day trip to go there.

These posters were on the door outside:

And there were 'life size' plastic cut outs of the characters:

(I don't think the real Kwik-E-Mart has these characters in them, but I forgive)

And of course KrustyOs:

and Squishess:

And this:

BUT NO BUZZ COLA!!!!

I spoke to the manager and he said they'd sold out and more was coming. Hopefully I can still get some.

Oh, and here is what my bowl of KrustyOs looks like:

Yes, they look, smell and taste like fruit loops (oh, and I quite like fruit loops).

Bar Hopping in the Lower East Side again

2007-07-06T01:38:00.000+01:00

So after the Todd P show we decided to go out with Lachlan and his friend. I was pretty keen to be out with someone who's lived in New York before. So we got the name of the club, exchanged numbers and caught the subway to the Lower East Side, stopping for Pizza and Soda (omg $2!) on the way.

Pizza:

(I rly need to take photos of the more impressive pizza I've been eating. Currently trying to limit myself to one slice per day)

Subway Camwhoring:

We walked and walked and using my sweet knowledge of New York City Streets (no srsly, I'm awesome at it) we found Motor City. Lachlan introduced us to his friend, Todd, who happened to be the guy who oragnaised the show we were just at. He was very informative about NYC. He described Motor City as a 'faux-grimey bar for rich Lower East Side dwellers to come and look rough and tough'. And looking around the bar it pretty much seemed that way.

(Lachlan left...Todd right)

The bar was a bit shit so we headed down the road toward the Dark Room. We soon realised this was the same place we went the week prior (where the Australian bar tender was). Before we went in Lachlan's friend saw an old (coked-out) 'friend' of his and next minute we were in his tiny one-bedroom apartment drinking his alcohol.

[Photo Edited]

So then we went to the Dark Room, but left after one drink as they were playing bad heavy 80's rock way too loudly. So then it was back to Motor City where we drank, sat and chatted. Was fun to be out with other people. And then before long it was 4am (when all clubs in NYC must close) and Todd gave us a lift home and we went to bed.

I think this blog made it all sound like it wasn't much fun. But it was.

Todd P Show #2 (Die! Die! Die! et. al)

2007-07-05T15:55:00.000+01:00

We found out ex-Brisbane rock star Lachlan (ex-French Horns) was playing a show in NYC with his new band Die! Die! Die! and so figured we'd go check it out. The venue was a short walk from our apartment so we drank and headed off.

We got there in time to catch the last of Knyfe Hyts (who I dind't really pay any attention to) and grab a Whiskey and Orange Juice (wtf?...it actually tasted good).

Then Die! Die! Die! played and they were pretty good.

After them, The Fugue played. I didn't like their music so much but their front man was, well, very entertaining and full of energy.

After watching his antics for a few songs I went into the back room. He then came into the back room and flashed everyone. Gross! (Did not see...averted eyes). And then when I went back to the other room to see what antics he was up to I came across this. Yikes!

The Fugue were the last scheduled band, but then these guys came on:

A kinda of drunk cabaret-style set...just drums and vocals. Covering popular songs such as Frank Sinatra's New York, New York and 'Candy Man' from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They were much fun. And here's some more pics, and quite a few because the drummer was very snappily dressed.

After the show Todd played Sinatra's New York, New York (a special song) from his iPod and so Suze and I danced on the bloodied floor.

After the show Lachlan asked us if we wanted to go out, and so we did...

Fiery Furnaces @ Studio B

2007-07-04T02:10:00.001+01:00

After the Man Man show, we headed home, showered, drank and then went back to Greenpoint to see the Fiery Furnaces.

The door bitch, upon viewing my driver's license, told us that she was from Brisbane. (This story doesn't really go anywhere).

I don't know who the support was...something something dios. Didn't take a lot of notice. They were 'nice' and 'inoffensive' and probably quite likable if I gave them attention...

...instead of cam whoring with susan.

So then the Fiery Furnaces played. And I was really looking forward to them because they are a very fantastic band and cut the mustard live. Studio B was a medium sized venue, probably similar to The Zoo and it was mostly full without being packed and still very easy to get a good spot and a great view.

For the uninitiated the FF play their live sets as meledys and dramatically change the songs. It's standard for them to play for 45minutes without stopping. And this set was no different, first was 35 minutes of the highlights from Bitter Tea. The second half was older songs from Blueberry Boat, Gallowbird's Bark and EP (and some songs of the new album). This is the third time I've seen this band and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to do it many times again.

I was quite drunk and went to thank Eleanor after the show. It was very awkward. "Oh...hi...umm....I'm Eleanor". *james runs away*.

Oh, and if anyone would like to explain why Shrek and Homer are on the Fiery Furnaces' tour shirts, I'd appreciate that.

Pool Party #2

2007-07-03T23:25:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday was the second McCarren Pool Party for this summer. It was very similar to last time expect 1) It was much less hot 2) There were many more people 3) The bands were better.

The headlining act was Man Man from Philadelphia. Apart from a quick Myspace listen I wasn't familiar with this band but they were really awesome. Six members, all dressed in white and LOTS of percussion (and energy to match).

And then there was this special guy there who is apparently a massive Man Man fan from their home town:

On the way out from the show I came across this super-fun matching band:

(sorry for the lack of blogging lately - been lazy)

Kickin' it High Class

2007-07-01T02:32:00.000+01:00

Today we decided to check out the more upmarket parts of Manhattan - Upper East and West Sides.

On the way there we stopped in at one of those self-serve salad bars which I think are now my favorite way of eating out. I just liuke being able to choose what I want and getting as little or as much as I want only paying for what I get.

I had a cherry coke with it for novelty (and then started thinking about how many failed marketing attempts Coke has had in Australia).

We went to the NY Library and had a quick look at a photo exhibition. No photos.

We walked past a lot of brand stores - Prada, Louis Vuitton, AMD, Gucci etc etc. But didn't do into any. This part of Fifth Ave was completely packed with tourists and people trying to sell things to tourists. It was very scary and we tried to get away.

And then some street performers with a very aggressive man collecting money from the audience:

I felt like taking this photo. It's the reflection of some old buildings in a new one. The new building is the Museum of Modern Art.

The most exciting stop of the day was undoubtedly the infamous fifth ave Apple Store. The well-hyped iPhone launched last night and so there were plenty on display to play with (and plenty of people wanting to play with them). The Apple Store is actually underground, and you enter via a glass cube and go down glass stairs or a circular glass elevator.

And yer the iPhone is amazing. Here's a terrible photo of me and one:

And one of the many giant promo iPhones:

They were doing iPhone workshops there. We didn't hang around for one.

We tried to find Studio 54 to buy a souvenir for a friend. But despite having the address, couldn't. Stupid Studio 54.

Then I went back to a different outlet of the same store where I bought jeans yesterday...and then bought another pair of jeans. These ones are extremely comfortable, lightweight and dark blue. Cost me $39.

There are a lot of famous 'Squares' in NY - Time Square, Washington Square, Madison Square etc. There are also some not-so-well known ones. This one really amused me. It is nothing more than a traffic island but it has it's own little name (which escapes me right now). Also, it is a triangle, not a square.

And then when I came home I found my digicam USB cable waiting for me. YAY! (Yes, they do postal delivery on a Saturday). So I guess there'll be some photo blogs to come when I get the time and motivation.

Suze had a Hangover and I was Lazy

2007-06-30T15:47:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was Friday and I didn't do much. Woke up at 12.30pm. I did however achieve greatly as I found a much-needed shoulder bag at Beacon's Closet for $14.

I did go to the place that sold the Vegemite and bought some. US$6.50 for a small tub. Ouch! The shop was actually a cheese store and had a huge range of funky (definition 2-1) cheeses that I'm very keen to check out.

I also sat on our roof and took some sweet photos of the Manhattan skyline, a nearby water tank and our cats. I could while hours and hours away taking photos. Unfortunately I can't show them to you because my digicam USB cable still hasn't arrived.

We got latenight hungry at 11pm and went for dinner at a Thai restaurant. I got some Massaman curry and then asked for the rest to take home and it made a really good breakfast this morning so I'm pretty satisfied with that one, hey.

Today we're going to go to Manhattan...but not downtown (omg! that's different!!). Wanted to go to Empire State Building but they're asking $20 each. Pfft!

P.S. A cute little squirrel lives in the tree outside of our apartment and I'm going to try take photos of him. He has a bushy tail.

James Buys Clothes And Does Some Other Stuff

2007-06-29T18:32:00.000+01:00

On Thursday we were going to go on a free walking tour on the history of downtown Manhattan but were a little late with getting ready and then didn't know how to call a cab so we just decided to go shopping (again).

We wanted to head to Barney's New York where they were having a sale on jeans, in particular, Cheap Mondays. Barney's is a very expensive store. The first item I looked at was a side bag...it was $375. No thanks. Anyway, I found what I was looking for - some cheap Cheap Mondays black skinnies for only $29. Sold.

We walked around Chelsea for a bit but didn't know much about the area and weren't coming across many decent shops so we headed back over to the east side of Manhattan to East Village. It was here I decided to have a craving for Dunkin' Donuts. I got a Lemon one for 99c. It didn't really look like a doughtnut (no hole) and was filled with some (lots of) sweet lemon sauce. I should've taken a photo. It was sickly sweet but completely fantastic sans holding my stomach for the next hour.

On the way home we stopped by ANOTHER second hand clothing store, but this one was different; I actually found some stuff I liked and went home with these for $40.

Decided to go out (finally) and bought a liter of Smirnoff for $20 beforehand. The bar we went to was called Barcade and no points for guessing that it's a cross between a Bar and Arcade. I was expecting it to be a bar with a few more gaming machines than normal but was surprised to find it filled wall-to-wall with arcade machines. I only played Mario. I'm not very good at it. Lucky it was only one quater for 4 lives.

(lots of dogs in shops and bars here - though not where food is served)

After Barcade we decided to follow some people hoping they were going to another club I knew was in the area and wanted to check out. It was called Union Pool and one of the select NYC clubs you can dance in. So we danced. Met some Asian-American guy, chatted for a while and then walked home. On the way home we came across a big budget movie filming.

Here's a dodgy photo of where the filming was taking place:

And here's some directors chairs:

There were a LOT of trailers in the area.

Edit: Okay, so I just did some very quick research and am going to assume that the movie is Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman). The movie stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman (as 'Caden') and Michelle Williams (as 'Claire') and is currently filming in New York.

Oh, and in exciting news I found some vegemite in a shop window on the walk home.

Wednesday

2007-06-28T13:46:00.000+01:00

So Wednesday was pretty damn hot and humid (89% according to Google), I wasn't coping well and after yesterday's hot stint in the botanic gardens I wasn't keen on doing it all again. So we had a quiet day.

I went to the supermarket and bought a lot of things I didn't really need. And then later in the day I went to the bottle shop to get a bottle of port and a bottle of vodka. It was a tiny bottle shop but they had an overwhelming range of vodka brands and bottle sizes. So much so that it was all too much and I ended up with just a bottle of port. I'll probably go back and get a small bottle of Ketel One. (I haven't seen a single premixed spirit since I've been here. Will investigate more.)

We went back to Teddy's Bar & Grill for dinner. I got a veggie burger but it tasted like a beef burger and was really fucking foul.

Darren Hayes @ Canal Room

2007-06-27T15:12:00.001+01:00

Last night I went to this much-looked-forward-to gig. It was easy to find as it was in SoHo, where we'd spent our previous day. We arrived early (8pm, still light) and thankfully so as it was a particularly early gig.

We were directed to some sweet lounge and tables on arrival with table service. I ordered a Vanilla Vodka & Ginger Ale. It cost me US$11 (inc. tip), though that wasn't so surprising. Drinks are very expensive in NYC, especially in nice venues like the Canal Room. And it was pretty schmick.

The supporting band (who I still don't know the name of) started just before we arrived. They didn't really interest me that much and had a goofy frontman, but I just sat back enjoying my drink and the air conditioning (still feeling the effects of the hot day).

Then Darren came on in his signature white suit looking schmick as usual. Three songs in I tired of the annoying industry types we were sitting with and left the lounge area for the floor. Despite being at the back I still had a great view as it was a really small venue. As expected, a similarly great show to the one I saw at Alhambra in Brisbane with some amusing between-song (and within-song) banter. It's hard for me not to love this guy.

(Darren and his 3 man band)

(Regular keyboardist, Justin Shave)

(He's quite an animated performer)

Much love and thanks to Darren for letting us go. It was great.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

2007-06-27T14:50:00.000+01:00

We picked a bad day to go to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It was the hottest day since our arrival so spending it in the sun didn't prove fun.

The garden was quite large, with specific sections. Shakespeare garden, Fragrance Garden, Cherry Esplanade, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Bonsai Greenhouse etc etc.

It was pretty disappointing to be quite honest. I wanted to see pretty flowers, but all the pretty flowers were dead. I still haven't tired of seeing squirrels and there were still some really nice spots that I would have liked to have taken the time to sit down and enjoy.

All but two of the photos I took are on my digicam and the usb cable hasn't arrived.

This was on celebrity path, containing the names of Brooklyn-born and Brooklyn-'flourished' celebrities. This was my favourite. There were a lot of more credible celebrities which I ignored.

This is the Japanese Garden.

I will probably add more photos to this blog when I can.

Checking out Soho

2007-06-27T13:33:00.000+01:00

On Monday we decided to check out Soho. Soho is short for South of Houston and is a well-gentrified artist neighbourhood.

Before we left I got peckish and went down to Bedford Ave to grab brunch. A cream cheese bagel and creaming soda. It was pretty great, best creaming soda ever.

Soho is too low in Manhattan to have the luxury of the well-named Nth St and Nth Avenue roads and so we had to buy a map to avoid walking around in circles (there was a lot of 'haven't we been here?'). We went over a week in NYC without needed a map. Pretty good effort.

We stumbled upon the Magnolia Bakery. It supposedly featured heavily in Sex in the City. You have to lineup to get into the (small) store.

They have chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes. I got a chocolate one and suze a vanilla one. But we were fooled! The vanilla onces have chocolate icing and vice versa. The the cup cakes weren't that great, but they looked pretty...well mine looked pretty until I picked it up.

We came across this:

A heap of individually-painted post-9/11 patriotic tiles mounted on a fence.

These car parks fascinate me (walked past this twice because of our lack of map):

While walking in a specific area I noticed there was less (but still some) honking...and then I saw this:

Walking around makes me hungry so we decided to eat at a cute Indian restaurant that had some lunch specials. I ordered a Vegetable curry and Susan a Chicken Curry (about US$5 each). Not long after ordering, a small plate came out each of curry soup and something deepfried. We were a little confused. 'Is this is it?'. 'Did they screw up our order?'. 'Will we have to pay for this?'. Anyway, we ate it and before long confusion was cast aside and the main meal turned up: The curries + 3 different condiments + a plate of rice + naan bread. Holy shit! We ate that and before long they'd brought out dessert! We were a bit 'surely that its'. And then they brought out tea. Phew! It's not often you get more than you expect at a restaurant. We tipped well. (The bill came out on a plate of scented stuff with a spoon, we had no idea what to do with it).

I didn't really buy anything the whole day except one more snow dome to add to the collection.

Losing my Laundromat Virginity

2007-06-25T13:57:00.000+01:00

So I ran out of clean clothes (and once-worn clothes). The laundromat is about a 20sec walk from the apartment.

Here's me looking incredibly stupid in the clothes I least wanted clean and my dirty clothes back pack:

And here's the laundromat:

I didn't have washing powder so I asked the lady. She said, 'Sorry, I speaka no English', so I had to duck off and grab some washing liquid from a corner store.

The small washing machines took 6 quaters:

I didn't want to use the dryer but I need clothes to wear that day. These are the instructions on the dryer:

There was no childrens in my dryer:

I ended up with one more sock than I took.

Pool Party #1

2007-06-25T10:52:00.001+01:00

The first Sunday afternoon pool party of the summer was yesterday and +/-, Oakley Hall and Superchunk were playing.

When arrived it looked like this:

We grabbed some food and sat in the small amount of shade. The New Yorkers are all like 'yay it's summer...we love the sun' so there was plenty of shade left for us.

This is what the crowd looked like during Superchunk:

And there was a slip-n-slide kinda thing going on for people to cool off:

The Glass

2007-06-24T21:39:00.000+01:00

A band that I'm mildly familiar with, but quite like, was playing a free show in the Lower East Side at a small bar last night.

The Glass were due to start at 11pm, but didn't until about 1.30am. I was really drunk and tired, suze went home, I fell asleep sitting up I don't know how many times and then the band played a really short set. The set finished with my favourite song of theirs so I was satisfied.

I was surprised with how little fan base they have here in their home town. The small room was reasonably full, but mostly with drunk girls (and boys chasing them) who didn't seem too familiar with the band.

Bar Hopping in East Village / Lower East Side

2007-06-24T19:50:00.000+01:00

We had a couple of hours to spare between a art/toy release 'party' we went to and a gig later that night. Suze and I decided to go random bar hopping and came across some interesting places.

The most notable was a place called 'Mars Bar'. Hands down the most dingy, dirty bar I've been in.

We came across an Australian eatery (but didn't go in). On the menu was a 'Chook Sanga' (that's a Chicken Sandwhich in case you aren't versed in Australian).

In another bar we noticed the bar guy had a funny accent. And that that funny accent was Australian. Now, given that I've spent 21 years around Australian accents I wouldn't have thought it'd be so noticeable. He sounded like Mick Dundee and I just don't understand it. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that that's how we sound to others. Gawd.

Coney Island Mermaid Parade

2007-06-24T19:02:00.000+01:00

The only time I'd heard of Coney Island before was as the on-location setting of my favourite film (Requiem for a Dream). From what I'd read it has a reputation for having a certain kind of character. I kinda wanted to check it out, and what better time than at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.

It was a long, packed train ride out to Coney Island and when we arrived moved through the huge crowd and started snapping photos of the bizarre parade while getting sun burnt on the nose.

This guy (not in the parade) had some pretty amazing hair:

This is the 'world famous' Cyclone roller coaster. It's made of wood.

On the subway ride home we came across a pirated DVD stall:

edit: I forgot to mention that Adam Savage from Mythbusters was the King of the parade. The Queen was Patti d'Arbanville.

My First Todd P Show

2007-06-24T09:09:00.000+01:00

So Todd P is some well-known guy who organises DIY shows and parties in NYC - particularly in the Lower East Side, Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick.

This particular show was in Bushwick. On the line-up was Golden Error, Death Set, Best Fwends, Parts and Labour (it was their record launch) and Matt and Kim (who are supposedly quite popular).

The gig was originally meant to be on the roof of an auto-parts store but found itself homeless on the day of the show before being relocated to an empty warehouse just 3 hours before it started. Thanks to the internet, enough people still managed to turn up to sell-out the show.

The show, was, well, interesting. The building was being constructed in. Wooden boards covered trenches in the concrete, orange tape cordoned off areas under construction and piles of concrete rubble laid around. All of the band equipment was being run off a generator. Three (reportedly disgusting) port-a-loos were present. I didn't use them.

As soon was we arrived, the cops (NYPD) turned up just after an organiser ran through the place whispering 'hide yr drinks'. Initial reactions were that the whole event was going to be shut down a la 610, but before long they'd left after informing Todd that there was to be no loitering outside the venue.

The bands were, on the whole, pretty bad. Somewhat typical of this kind of event. To quote a friend, "mediocrity hidden by an effects board". Expect not hidden that well. In defence of the bands, though, there were major sound problems. Due to the sound equipment being run off a generator, and that generator being insufficient, one speaker cut in and out CONSTANTLY. It was the worst sound I've ever encountered.

Despite all this, I managed to really enjoy the Death Set (listen, listen and listen). They managed to fit some pop sensibility into their mixture of samples, uncontrollable shredding and psuedo-rap yelling. It's a little ironic that I had to travel to Brooklyn to find an Australian band (Gold Coast, infact) that I liked, but maybe not that surprising.

Headliners, who reportedly were the reason for the sell-out crowd, were playing their first homeborough show in quite some time. I somewhat enjoyed them but their song-writing was awfully primative.

Never before have I seen so much stage diving and crowd surfing. During the bands there was an almost constant stream of people crawling onto the stage and then diving into not-that-dense mosh. Enjoyable to watch from a far, but that kind of thing is definitely not for me in my old age. During the last band, one of the video crew surfed his way around filming the band.

Undoubtedly the best part of the show was when, between two of the earlier bands, I went next door to a DVD Rentals slash Cafe and ordered a Spinach, Mozzarella and Tomatoe Panini. I'm just not cut out for guerilla gigs, to be quite honest.

In a previous blog I mentioned the prevalence of shoes hanging from power-lines in Williamsburg (and Bushwick, it seems). On our way home from the gig, we came across this little amusing scene:

It appears one of the lines fell under the weight. I watched this pile of shoes slowly disappear as (I guess) some Cinderellas scored free kicks.

Shopping on North 9th

2007-06-23T07:49:00.000+01:00

Decided to check out the whole of N 9th St today while I visited some hardware stores on the street to look for power adapters. It's only a few blocks long.

First store that took my fancy was Scandinavian Grace:

Most of my friends know of my fondness for Scandinavia, but probably less of my fondness of the aesthetics of designer homewares, despite not having much use for them. They had some really interesting (and expensive) stuff - collapsible silicon bowls, anyone? But my favorite item was a packet of serviettes with maps of Stockholm on them. They were US$7 and had they had maps of Sweden I would've bought.

Just a couple of doors down was an opened, but unmarked door:

I was in an inquisitive mood and so stuck my head in revealing an art gallery. Most interesting pieces were:

3m x 2m dense rectangle of pinned random objects in little bags
A wide-screen (on it's side) video of a pin-covered head in a tall box with falling balloons and the man trying to blow the balloons up so they don't pop
a small constructed room titled 'a deaf ear' with a hanging microphone, speakers, and noisey fan (i still haven't figured this one out, the microphone/speakers didn't do anything)

This would be a whole lot more interesting if I had have taken photos, but photographing art feels wrong.

Down the road was a large second-hand store called 'Junk' selling, among many other things, used postcards for 67c (wtf?). I'm not one to buy bric-a-brac but I liked this:

Maybe I will gift it to someone.

Spanish is almost like a second language here, and even more so in Williamsburg. It's not uncommon to hear public announcements in Spanish or see signs in both English and Spanish. From what I've gathered, the ubiquity of the language has become a point of racial contention. Here's some graphical evidence:

This is a declaration on a building construction that was written in English and Spanish. I walk past this sign everyday.

After the shopping I had to duck home to show some guys around the apartment who want to shoot their movie in here.

Breakfast Walk

2007-06-22T17:57:00.000+01:00

Went down to the same restaurant we went to last Monday for pancakes. It was really busy. The pancakes were amazing:

I love the little glass bottle the Vermont maple syrup comes in. I also had a lge glass of what I'm pretty sure is the best OJ I've ever tasted. They squeeze it for you when you order:

I took this photo while having breakfast. These brown trucks deliver postal service packages. They're everywhere. For some reason I'm very fond of them.

After breakfast I walked up the shore side of Williamsburg. Despite the fact that it's only 3 blocks from the main strip (and 1.5 blocks from our apartment) this area is a desolate Industrial Business Zone. It looks like one business man saw an opportunity:

A building this high really sticks out in Williamsburg where 3 stories seems to be the norm. The views from this building would be phenomenal - East River & Manhattan - with no obstruction.

I tried to get down close to the water, where I believe there is a park, but with all this construction going on, everything seemed to be blocked off.

Greenwich Village (East and West ) and More

2007-06-22T13:51:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we organised to meet up with a contact for cheap drinks in the East Village and so we decided to spend the day shoping in that area.

We started in the East Village. First step was to buy a bagel (our first). We both got Cream Cheese Bagels for $2. They were very filling and very heavy but actually quite tastey (I didn't finish mine). I washed the bagel down with a Lge Dr Pepper from McDonals. And, oh my, was it large!

We walked around looking for some particular stores that suze wanted to see, but found many others on the way. Second hand clothes, retro furniture and a store called Economy Candy!!

This photo doesn't really capture the magnitude of the store. It was so packed full of candy if you swung around too quickly there'd be a candy avalanche. My mind was opened to this:

Incase you can't see, that's 21 different colors of M&Ms (+ 1 mixed). I was a little bit overwhelmed and couldn't stay in that area very long. I bought a packet each of 'Lego Candy' 'Smarties Pops'. Smarties is the same brand as Rocket Candy in Australia.

We also came across a most stylish looking hobo:

Unforunately a front shot wasn't possible. He even had some swt thick-framed glasses.

After an extensive look around East Village we decided to cross Broadway and Fifth Avenue to some Thift Stores in West Village. These stores were really great. They looked like expensive second hand stores, without being very expensive. I don't have a lot of luck clothes shopping though. I picked up simple shirt for $4 because I liked the material and colour. And I bought a snow dome; a present for a friend.

This, however, was the best part about our short stint in West Village:

A Lemonade stall. One quarter for a cup of lemonade. I paid a dollar and asked to take a photo too. The Lemonade was really tastey.

Then we scooted back to East Village to meet up with Paula. Paula was our first apartment contact. A friend of mine had stayed there a few years ago while Paula was on vacation (she vacates a lot) and we were hoping to too. The plan didn't fall into place but we got to see the apartment anyway. It was a real eye-opener. It was a tenement building, built for immigrants. It was really small. A lounge room, kitchen with shower (yes, the shower was in the kitchen, beside the fridge) and the bedroom (with toilet down the back). It was oh so dark and cosy. I really liked it but think it would be difficult to live in with someone else, unless you were very close. I guess this was our first look at how a lot of Manhatters live. It's too expensive otherwise.

Then we moved down to a bar passing a jazz band playing on the sidewalk, while people watched from an unblocked road:

The bar was nice. It was happy our (half price appetizers). We had calamari ($4) and some pita n chips with dip ($3) with vodka cranberries ($3). Chatted to Paula and her friends for an hour an a half. They gave us some great advice on what to do while we're here. And Paula is taking us to MoMA for free. That saves US$40 + gives us our own tour guide.

On the way home we walked past the jazz band (they'd been playing for over two hours!) and caught the sub back to Williamsburg. As we left the sub there was a crowd of people on the road and another band playing in the middle of the road. This one a little more avant-garde. We decided to duck home to the toilet (while passing another two bands playing on the street), reserach what the hell was going on and then head back.

(plz note shoes hanging from power lines, these are everywhere in Williamsburg)

It turns out that the event was part of Make Music New York (which is, part of a series of 'Make Music' events across the U.S.). Hundreds of bands were playing for free that day across NYC and about 50+ just in Williamsburg. We went back to the action but within minutes we were in a torrential downpoor, ran home, got soaked, and went to bed.

I'm about to head off to Egg again for pancakes. Susan is still asleep.

Get yr sugarz outta mah breadz!

2007-06-21T13:22:00.000+01:00

I eat a lot of bread. It's pretty much the basis of my diet. Toast is awesome. And I'd figured that'd pretty much be my staple while over here.

But...in an 'omg wtf?' moment I've found out that American bread has sugar in it (in the form of high fructose corn syrup). It tastes like McDonald's buns. I thought I'd try Suze's organic wholemeal bread, figuring that it'd be unsweetend. But no, it has molasses in it! (eww!)

Just to clarify, sweetened bread is fucking disgusting. So now I'm on a mission to find some unsweetened bread so I can eat. Will keep ya'll updated...

UPDATE: It looks like there'll be no breadz for me for the next month. I asked around. No go.

My Digicam and Why My Blog is Dead

2007-06-21T02:32:00.001+01:00

I brought my prehistoric (but much loved) digital camera over with me but it was not in action for due to the fact that I lost my Japanese-to-Australian power converter (it's a Japanese camera). That was until during one of my restless nights of sleeplessness I realised that the plug is the same as the American ones here. Huzzah!

So then I got all snap-happy and came home to get blog-happy with my pics only to realise I can't find the USB cable to get the photos. Skip forward to a few days and I went for a walk to the local computer shop, but alas, they don't have the specific cable I need. So one is now in the mail from eBay.

So until said cable arrives, my blog might be a little light on, atleast in graphics. Hopefully I'll still have the motivation to blog The Sopranos props sale and our trip to the American Natural History Museum when it does arrive.

Adios.

I've just optimistically woken up to my first healthy day

2007-06-19T13:45:00.000+01:00

Only got six hours sleep, but hopefully that's enough to tide me over. Today we're going to the opening day of the sale of The Sopranos set. Word is that most of the good stuff has gone to the crew, but Suze is still hopeful of finding something for her Sopranos-loving boyf. I think it'll just be interesting to check out and an excuse to travel to a new part of Brooklyn (Long Island City).

After that I'll be doing the exploring/shopping that I've been wishing I was doing while spending days on the couch. Hopefully I can eat three meals today; first time since Thursday in Australia.

Panda Bear & Rusty Santos

2007-06-19T05:52:00.000+01:00

After a decent walk, we found the Bowery Ballroom and had no hassles with our e-tickets. I ordered a vodka lemonade, was informed that I actually meant 'vodka sprite' and was then given one of those wretched vodka drinks that tastes, like, well, I dunno, gross vodka.

We missed the first support - Avey Tare's wife and former Múm member, Kria Brekken.

Second support was Rusty Santos who helped out on Animal Collective's Sung Tongs and Panda Bear's Person Pitch. I really enjoyed his set. Lots of vox distortion. Can't really explain it, though.

Half an hour later, Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) came on. Just him, his voice, his desk of knobs and projected backdrop. It wasn't really what I expected, though I'm more familiar with Young Prayer than Person Pitch. It was a good show, but I have to admit I preferred Rusty Santos.

I Just Woke Up

2007-06-19T00:14:00.000+01:00

Earlier today I found out that the Panda Bear show we were going to is tonight, not tommorow. And that was all the convincing that my so-tired-they're-stinging eyes needed for a nap.

So I spent most of today sleeping (instead of doing this). Despite my napping, I still feel terrible. I hope I can pipe up for the show, it's one I've really been looking forward to. Doors open at 7.30pm (early!) and it's 7.20pm now, so we're just about to get ready.

Must. Stay. Awake.

2007-06-18T16:35:00.000+01:00

Today is going to be difficult. I'm really, really tried. But I need to stay awake until tonight to get my sleeping pattern established.

Got any tips? I think energy drinks would only make the whole situation worse.

Suze is cleaning. If I can muster up the energy I might help her.

Post Breakfast

2007-06-18T16:16:00.000+01:00

So Egg was, in general, pretty good. The table cloths were paper, and crayons were provided on each table:

Son House was playing which was nice and novel.

I ordered Scrambled Eggs (with toast and hash brown) with a side of broiled organic tomatoes and a small OJ :

It was nice but waaaay too fatty; especially in my sensitive state. I'm a massive pansy when it comes to fatty food and I'm now laying on our couch feeling miserable as a result.

Maybe I should stick to my vegetable broth:

I'm going to brave a meal

2007-06-18T13:36:00.000+01:00

After eating nothing more than a banana, some cherries and a can of vegetable broth yesterday, we're heading to Egg on N 5th and Bedford.

I don't understand most of the menu. This would normally excite me as I like being adventurous with food, but I'm still sensitive from yesterday. I'll be ordering 2 Eggs Any Style (Scrambled) with Organic Broiled Tomatoes.

Feeling really light headed. Hope I don't collapse on the 4-block walk there.

New York City Soundscape

2007-06-18T03:53:00.000+01:00

*honk....hooooHOOONK....hoooooooonk..honk honk....HOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK*

I normally hate people honking their horns but it really amuses me here. I get an extra little kick when the honks are frequent enough and long enough that there's no silence inbetween.

True Colors Tour Update

2007-06-17T18:58:00.000+01:00

Due to the previously mentioned gastrointestinitis we're had to call off our plans to head to Washington D.C. to see the True Colors Tour (US$110 worth of tickets).

I don't care that we're not going to Washinton; I didn't really want to anyway. I am, however, really upset that I won't be seeing Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, Deborah Harry and The Gossip. This is quite the blow. But I've taken on the Dalai Lama's philosophy and am dealing with it.

The True Colors tour comes to New York tommorow but it's sold out (and does not have the adorable Rufus).

:(

James and Susan Get Sic

2007-06-17T12:48:00.000+01:00

*vom vom vom*

Could it be the change in water?

edit: just to clarify we are properly sick. not hungover. i've spewed 4 times today. and suze nearly twice that. we both feel like absolute shit. suze commentating on what's going on outside is about the only nyc experience we're getting today.

Imagine

2007-06-17T02:11:00.000+01:00

On the way home from the Television gig, walking through Central Park (which is gorgeous) we stumbled across the ' Imagine' shrine.

Several months ago I read some 'secrets of new york' article and it mentioned a story about a homeless man who is donated flowers each day from a florist and then places them in a different arrangement like this (this is just beside Strawberry Fields):

It was really nice to come across this without expecting it. And to know what it was straight away.

Novelty Dogs

2007-06-16T03:02:00.000+01:00

All the dogs we've seen so far (about 6) have been what Suze and I have labelled 'novelty dogs'. They're all quirky and interesting looking. The type of dogs you want a take a photo of and post on the internet. But we're too timid to take photos of someone else's dog.

We're here!

2007-06-16T01:58:00.000+01:00

So the plane arrived. One hour late due solely to peak hour on the runway. Spent over half an hour just waiting for a terminal to free up.

Caught a taxi. Tipped the driver. Found the apartment. Walked around to find an internet cafe. Didn't. Decided we were being public nuisances on the footpath with our luggage. Came back to the apartment facade to see if we could get any internets on the laptop. And huzzah!

The lady who owns the apartment is at work, but is currently arranging for us to get in.

It's surprisingly cold here. I was prepared for major heat. It's only slightly warmer than Brisbane at the moment.

BTW...blogs from plane flight will be posted (when I get time) below this one. i.e. when I wrote them.

LA --> NY Blog (Bitter Aftertaste)

2007-06-15T17:30:00.000+01:00

Getting through customs/security at LAX was surprisingly easy but also stressful as we had 1.5 hrs to get from one plane to the next (inc. immigration, baggage pick-up, customs, baggage check-in & finding the right terminal/gate).

It all went through quicker than expected and we were happy campers until a very friendly big black American gave us directions to our terminal and then forcefully asked for money. Being in a foreign airport in a foreign country I start to get in the mindframe of abiding by intimidating men in security outfits and in my haste to make our plane I unwillingly donated to some fuckwit conservative christian Americans*. Probably in my bottom 10 list of organisations to donate to.

Yes, I'm weak. It's a flaw. I'll admit.

Oh, and LAX is absolutely shithouse. Worst. Airport. Eva.

P.S. I have a copy of the New York Times. US$1 + 8.25% GST

* 'fuckwit conservative' was my own assumption.

Bris --> LA Blog 2

2007-06-15T14:30:00.000+01:00

6.30am L.A. time.

So the last two thirds of the flight didn't fly (pun) as fast as the first. On the whole, though, it's been a pretty painless process.

The food was good sans lack of vegetarian options. I realised vodka
+ lemonade is pretty good. And retickled my funny bone with old eps of The Nominees ('We Can Be Heroes' in Australia), Kath & Kim and Little Britain. Not much sleeping seemed to happen, though it's hard to tell.

We're about to land now and my head feels funny. We've just 2 hrs to get baggage, stealthily past through customs and recheck-in.

Over and out
-James

Bris --> LA Blog 1

2007-06-15T03:40:00.000+01:00

It's 12:50pm. I think we've been on the plane for 1hr 45mins. Doesn't seem like long. I had a little nap, watched a short movie on customs documentation, played with the in-flight entertainment, got a vodka + lemonade, tried to watch Happy Feet (movies...argh!) and filled out my customs forms.

I'm currently trying to work up the courage to press the host/ess button and ask for a plate of whatever everyone else seems to be having (it looks like more packaging than food, but I'm hungry) and another vodka. The little 'pretzel snacks' they gave us didn't really cut it (though suze and I have supplemented it with Wasabi Peas :D)

I'm currently listening to Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things on the 'pod. Have been in a much better mood since. Unfortunately, it's only going to last half the trip, but the in-flight entertainment has enough food shit (an 'alternative' section...lol) to tide me over.

Everything is smooth thus far. I got a little excited while writing 'New York' on the customs forms. Will probably blog again before we land.

-Love
James

James and susan pwn security

2007-06-15T01:22:00.001+01:00

We got through. Very painless. There's an extra security area for US flights. Suze got a pat down. Think she liked it. I missed out :(

Sorry, we overbooked your flight.

2007-06-14T13:59:00.000+01:00

But would you like a direct one that shaves 4 hours off your trip?
Okay. thx.

Thanks to this nice phone call today, we're now leaving Brisbane at 11:05am direct to Los Angeles at 7:00am.

I'm actually going to get some sleep. Novel!

Carbon Offsetting

2007-05-30T10:25:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago while at STA Travel, I picked up a small brochure advertising carbon offsetting for travel. For those unaware, Carbon Offsetting is the concept of calculating the carbon expenditure of an activity or process and then contributing enough money towards a carbon reduction scheme to neutralise the emission.

Given that I was already uncomfortable with the negative effect my holiday was going to have on the environment, I was really interested in the idea. The travel agent this morning informed me that it would cost $180 (equivalent to approximately 5 tonne of gas) - more than expected, but I bit the bullet without too much thought.

The idea of individuals being responsible for (and neutralising) the greenhouse gas they directly or indirectly produce is one I strongly support. Anyone who can afford a holiday, can also afford to offset it. According to the last explanatory step on the carbon offsetting process:

5. You feel bloody fantastic because you've made a positive change to the environment.

But I don't, because I haven't. I've just stopped feeling uneasy about the fact that my beloved holiday, that I can afford because I am fortunate, isn't further destroying the environment.

More info.

Contract to sublet * N 9th Street Apt.

2007-05-30T10:05:00.000+01:00

This agreement is to stipulate the conditions whereby James Brodie and Susan ***** will rent the apartment at *** N 9^th Street Apt. ** for June 15-July 18, 2007, from *****.

1. Deposit check written in the amount of $500, to be paid by June 7, 2007, will secure the apartment until the last day occupied and the apartment is inspected and found to be in good condition and the keys are returned to ***** or her proxy, after which the deposit check will be refunded/torn up.

2. Cashiers check, cash, or Paypal transfer in the amount of $2200 ($67/day for a total of 33 days) will cover the time period stipulated, including utilities (except long distance phone). This will be delivered to ***** no later than Saturday, June 16, 2007, at which time James and Susan will be given keys.

3. James and Susan agree to take care of the cats Steve and Butterfly McQueen, including giving them adequate food and water and changing the litter box as per *****’s instructions, and informing ***** of any urgent health problems so she can contact the vet. James and Susan agree to allow another trustworthy person to come into the apartment to check on the cats if they are away from the apartment for longer than 48 hours.

4. James and Susan agree to not smoke in the apartment and to maintain reasonable noise levels in consideration of the other tenants in the building, especially after 10:00 PM.

5. James and Susan agree to not let any other individuals stay in the apartment during the time they are renting it.

6. James and Susan agree not to make any permanent changes to the apartment.

7. Use of the roof is limited to the wooden deck; all litter or items that could blow off the roof must be removed when the deck is not being used.

8. ***** agrees to dress any issues or problems that may arise related to the structure, heat, water, gas, or electricity in the apartments as quickly as possible after being notified.

We consent to the above agreement.

_________________

James Brodie

_________________

Susan *****

I'd like to thank Mom, God, and Craigslist...

2007-05-25T14:09:00.000+01:00

At the begining of this week I reported two replies to our Craigslist listing. Niether of those went anywhere, but a third I received a day later was a little too good to be true.

Within walkign distance of McCarren Park;
In the centre of Williamsburg/Greenpoint;
Close to a frequent train direct to Manhattan; and
A whole apartment to ourselves (almost...see below)!

We started bouncing emails, waiting very anxiously inbetween (time zones are a bitch).

It turns out 'Rachel' is going abroad for almost the exact dates we're in Brooklyn. The apartment is US$67/night. It's a loft-style apartment with four (4!) rooms. One double bed. Two sleepable couches. And an 'aero' bed. It has Air Conditioning. Rooftop views of Manhattan. And two feline flatmates!

After divulging some references (real estate agents and flatmates) it seems Rachel was favourably swayed (thanks Timmy!) and now trusts that her cats won't flee and her neighbours will still talk to her on her return. Huzzah!

Fortunately, she doesn't leave till the day after we arrive, so we'll get the chance to meet her, be formally introduced to the cats, shown how to change the kitty litter and figure out how to work the stove.

Excited!

New Pornographers, Midlake @ Battery Park

2007-05-23T11:15:00.000+01:00

I once saw New Pornographers perform in Brisbane. It was pretty shit. But their not the only act on the bill...

Midlake's The Trials of Van Occupanter took a little while (till after their Brisbane gig, to be precise) but it now totally pushes my buttons so I was glad to see they had a show announced during our NYC stint (July 4th). And a FREE one at that! But there's a catch....

Due to organisers forseeing demand exceeding capacity at this Battery Park gig, tickets will be distributed at selected Starbucks in New York City. My initial reaction was 'aww fuck :('. It didn't seem likely that they'd be facilitating online international e-tickets.

It turns out the tickets will be distributed after we get there (June 26th) so as long as we are diligent (and lucky) we'll be spending the first part of our Independence Day evening relaxing to Midlake (and maybe A.C. Newman & friends).

Renegade Craft Fair

2007-05-23T10:59:00.000+01:00

ren·e·gade (rĕn'ĭ-gād')
n.

One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.
An outlaw; a rebel.

This was definitely Suze's idea, not mine, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it. The 3rd Annual Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair is held over two days at the McCarren Park Pool.

The Renegade Craft Fair is a unique DIY event organized by Sue Blatt + Kathleen Habbley. When this event began in 2003, there was nothing else like it. We took up crafts as a hobby after college and decided to try selling our stuff in local fairs. To our surprise, no events were catering to the burgeoning DIY craft community or even prohibited crafts all together. So we thought of organizing a fair of our own that tapped into this movement and provided a laid back, fresh venue for artists and shoppers alike.

I don't really know what to expect. Hopefully something more than crocheted toilet-roll dolls.

OMFG jellyNYC McCarren Park Pool Party!!!!

2007-05-22T01:52:00.000+01:00

So there's a party right. And it's free. And some bands play. And there's a dodgeball tournament. And it's in a pool. WTF?

It took us a little while to figure out what was going on, but here's the run down:

McCarren Pool was built in 1936 as part of an eleven giant pools construction project.
It becomes abandoned.
A company donates US$250 000 to restore the pool structure.
jellyNYC™ (an inter-media collaborative) organises some free gig in the empty pool
Add some dodgeball and a slip and slide, and you have the jellyNYC McCarren Park Pool Party!

There are four pool parties we are attending:

June 24
Superchunk
Oakley Hall
Special guest

JULY 1
Man Man
Dengue Fever
Illinois

JULY 8
Octopus Project
Erase Errata
Dan Deacon

JULY 15
Details coming soon!

Just quietly, these pool parties are pretty much what Suze and I are most looking forward to in New York. The 'how close is it to McCarren Pool?' test is the first asked of any apartments we consider.

Click here for more pics.
And this is what it looks like from space.

Darren Hayes @ Canal Room

2007-05-21T08:58:00.000+01:00

Yes, I like Darren Hayes. I frikkin heart Savage Garden and his solo stuff is great too. I first saw him at a small show at the Alhambra in Brisbane, Australia a couple of months ago and was very pleasantly surprised.

So I was pretty excited when I realised that I would be able to see him play a similarly small show in New York City. The gig's on the 26th June and is at the Canal Room.

"New York's the greatest if you can get someone to pay your rent"

2007-05-21T05:25:00.000+01:00

After a month of painful communication* with the landlord of the apartment we wanted, it has been established that we are not suitable tennants because they are looking for a minimum of two months.

So now we are back to square-one. Back to emailing the same contacts in New York. Back to posting on craigslist. And Back to searching the internet.

We're a lot more learned this time, though, and I am confident we won't have any trouble finding somewhere. We've also completely changed our mind on where we want to stay (Williamsburg/Greenpoint, rather than Lower Manhattan). I posted a 'wanted ad' on craigslist this morning and have already reaped two replies (one pointless), a much better result than last time. The listings on craigslist are also much more suited for the near-future too, so there is more luck to be had there.

* lack of email reply. strong accents. bad phone lines.

Black Lips @ New Jersey

2007-05-05T03:21:00.000+01:00

Another gig suze was keen on. I know little about their music but this snippet from Wikipedia - "The Black Lips have a reputation for crazy live shows that include vomiting, urinating, nudity, and fireworks" - and this from Loose Record - "For the record, yes, a Black Lips dude peed in his own mouth and spit[sic] it on the crowd." - make me both intrigued and scared.

For US$11, I think it's worth checking out, unless I get shat on or something.

Apartment @ Bedford-Stuyvesant

2007-05-05T02:16:00.000+01:00

Through an internet forum, we've been offered a room in the Williamsburg-adjoining Bedford-Stuyvesent in Brooklyn.

The suburb is not ideal as it's only recently started to undergo gentrification and while we don't exactly want to be staying on Fifth Ave, living in the ghetto ain't ideal either. Maybe a nice balance in between.

On the upside the room would cost us a paltry US$12/night each and the apartment is actually the top floor of a warehouse (with 19ft ceilings) converted into a livable, and very interesting apartment. There's a shitload of pictures of the place undergoing its transformation here.

At the moment we've decided against this place in preference for the Greenpoint apartment mentioned earlier but are still waiting for confirmation of its availability. It's quite comforting to have a Plan B, though.

Second NYC Wilco Show @ Warsaw, Brooklyn.

2007-05-05T01:57:00.000+01:00

As promised by my beloved, brooklynvegan, Wilco have announced a second NYC in response to the near immediate sell-out of Hammerstein Ballroom gig to which I fell victim.

The gig is a short walk from our intended accommodation in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The venue is called the Warsaw (at the Polish National Home) and I read that it features "Polish ladies selling sausage and beer." I don't like sausages or beer, but the idea excites me.

Anyway, tickets go on sale May 9th for this 700 capacity venue so I will have to stay up till the wee hours again to try secure a ticket.