soul glow

So, it’s like this. My day off, I have an hour of shiatsu with Yuki, then home for a Himalayan crystal salt bath. The sun filters in, and tree silhouettes emerge through the venetians.

I’m contemplating not much at all when there’s a knock at the door. Who has the universe brought me? Some Asian junior miss, selling the worst door-to-door oil paintings ever…Sigh.

Oh well. Still relaxed, in fact, only these beautiful people are more relaxed than moi. Warning – do not click link unless you are a fan of the ‘fro…

Hank Willis Thomas took a bunch of advertising pics and unbranded them for our viewing pleasure. See more of his work here.

the dad of a new generation

Question for all you experts out there – what should I buy for a new Dad? Traditionally, it would be booze and cigars, but now? Not so sure.

samurai fiction

Just home from a fabby cinematic experience. Nothing better than some pals, a pile of cushions and a comedy samurai flick after a busy week…Oh and someone else cooking you dinner? Priceless.

Samurai Fiction is a must-see. Written and directed by Hiroyuki Nakano (whose background is largely music video with MTV Japan ), it is a trippy, laugh out loud experience. This is the guy who brought us Deee-Lite’s groove is in the heart video!

Nothing is missing: great use of colour, in-jokes (if you’ve seen the Kill Bills and the Kurosawa samurai collection,they will be obvious), zany soundtrack, over-acting, ninjas, a rockstar in his first full-length film…It’s clear he is a HUGE fan of Akira Kurosawa’s work, and knows that folks like Tarantino can’t make samurai right cos he isn’t Japanese. I mean really!

So thank you Carol and Mark, for a tres wondrous evening. Five stars!

I really want to watch Seven Samurai again now…

dressed to ?

On the 96 tram to work and I heard this snippet:

“No, I can’t possibly go shopping with you today”

“Why not? I’m not dressed for it, that’s all”

She looked ok to me, blog pals, but then I have no idea where she was meant to be going…

Here’s some pics of a sweet shopping outfit, courtesy of Childcraft encyclopedia.

atomic age auto action!

Here’s William Ford, with a model Nucleon. The year? 1957 – and no, these never went on sale.

Imagine a world where plutonium powered cars could travel long distances without refuelling (thanks to a steam powered engine and on-board nuclear reactor). You could drive to the hula hoop contest, the tiki bar, across to your lodge meeting, and still have power to make it to contract bridge and the flying saucer square dance club. Then home to your boomerang-patterned formica bar, where you’d break out the Tupperware cocktail shaker and relax by the radiolette.

Ford were responsible for a sweet range of concept cars in the 50s and 60s – with the most futuristic names they could think of.

Here’s some of my favourites:

1954 Atmos
1955 LaTosca
1958 Galaxie
1958 X-2000
1960 LeVaCar Mach 1
1961 Gyron
1962 Seattle

Now of course, it wasn’t just Ford going all atomic and futuristic – check out the 1959 Cadillac Cyclone and the 1956 Olds Golden Rocket…

saturday nite mystery

Travelling home from drinks, we’re at the intersection of High and Westgarth when we saw IT. A red Ford Capri, driven by a guy in a beanie, with a full-size door protruding from the back seat. One of those faux leadlight panelled doors you might see in display home, circa 1985. The glass was cracked, and a triangular piece was missing.

damn you insomnia!

Awake since 3am – bad news since I sloped off to bed muchos tired round 11. Random noise outside is soothing, rain and car tyres sound good together.

Left the king-size to Joffa, who is snoring and rumbling up a symphony in there – he does still have the flu, he can’t help it, but…I should be asleep right now.

Yes, the newspaper hit my porch an hour back. If you see a dishevelled figure out there in an olive bathrobe, it’s only moi. Might as well boil the kettle and go read on the couch.

Damn you insomnia…I know this will pass, but it’s sure taking awhile!

eat the city

Strolling thru the Campbell Arcade/Degraves Street subway after several weeks. Loving the exhibition by Bernadette Trench-Thiedman at Platform. If you haven’t seen it, do drop by. This artist-botanist is pointing out the bleeding obvious – we have a lot of space in the CBD which could well be transformed into green and edible wonderlands. Many revolutionary gardeners have taken on this work, in places all over the world. See some happy snaps of them in this show. Click here for more.

This arcade has always been a favourite of mine. Built in 1956 for the Melbourne Olympics, it has a beautiful ambience – salmon pink tiled walls, beautiful signage, black marble columns… Tres late Deco. And that’s before you even look at some super retail – Cat’s Meow, Sticky, Corky Saint Clair, and the uber-stylish Touch of Paris men’s hairdressing salon. Where else can a bloke get a straight razor and lavender water spray these days?

perfect match

For all you boozehounds out there – here’s a surefire winner: Ardbeg 10 year old scotch, and a block of Dagoba Eclipse 87% organic chocolate. Smoky, peaty, bittersweet flavours, perfect for a cold evening. Yes, the scotch was duty free, and yes, you can visit me at work and buy this amazing chocolate…

thank you michael buble’

Last night saw me perched high in the Rod Laver Arena, loving every minute of a brilliant performance. What can I say? The man is part swinging hep cat, sexy songster, and sassy comedian – I’ve never seen someone look so comfortable on stage.

Both moi and boy pal M had a fabulous night – a great selection of old and new material, great live band and a unique style of feel-good showmanship. We sang along, we danced, we laughed. The man’s a delight to spend an evening with and I will be going again next time he tours, guaranteed.

Standout numbers? So many…

I’m your man – Leonard Cohen
Me and Mrs. Jones – Gamble and Huff / Billy Paul
That’s life – Frank Sinatra
Everything – Michael Buble’