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Last time I came here was five years ago, and left the joint with some excellent booty. "Brazil Boogie - Brazilian Jazz Funk from the 1970's and beyond" was the album, discovered beyond the hustle and bustle of Fitzroy St, Luna Park and Acland St.

This time around I came for a look-see in the hope of discovering another piece of buried-in-the-shelves treasure. But I notice a difference to the shop - the world music section has been replaced with... a bar?

Not only is it a bar with an outdoor beer garden (not sure what they call that in Melbourne), but they also have coffee, bites to eat, and a stage for live music - which seems to happen around 3-4pm every thurs, fri, sat and sunday.

Oooh yes, I have found my booty. And where, you ask? Okay I won't keep it a secret.

So I do my coffee in the beer garden, but found myself with limited time in which to wait for the live music to begin. So hey, I'll suss out the CD's. That's what I came for after all. There's a whole lot of independent music in this place and I soon find something I have never heard of but thought might tickle my fancy.

Katie Allen definitely presents as an Interesting and worthy soul singer to check out. Unfortunately I am still to find a white chick that can trump Alicia Keys in soul singing. The music was great, but I couldn't help being let down by the lyrics and seemingly forced eccentricity (don't quote me on that) of the singing. I remember the line:

"Are you rough enough, rough enough/Are you tough enough, tough enough/To be my man"

It was around this time I gave up on the CD-listening lounge and decided to soak up a bit of the atmosphere of the place. I have heard talk about Sao Paolo with its locals staying sane in a 20-million strong city by going to places that are away from the chaos, but still in the city.

Pure Pop Records is one of these places, although in a different city.

Enter, for the sake of sanity.

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Don't tease, please

June 27th 2008 08:35

I just found out my mother is in hospital for the night, so our family dinner has been called off. On top of that my doctor didn't bulk bill me and it was too late to get the money back from Medicare, so I'm a bit money-poor for a friday night.

As the last rays of sunlight were disappearing this evening and I was five minutes walking distance from home, I saw a tall, slender woman comfortably dressed with long, burgundy brown wavy hair. As I observed her movie-star style I thought back to her part in "Paris J'etaime" in an attempt to figure out why Ms Gyllenhall would be in Bondi, all so effortlessly casual.

In her part of the movie, she was constantly in contact with a Parisian hash dealer who she ended up expecting more than hash from, but he ended up letting her down. She seemed to be playing herself in the film, almost autobigraphically. So naturally I figure she's up to no good and doing the same thing with some small-time Sydney dealer while possibly doing a bit of work over at Fox studios.

As she notices my interest and is about two metres away, she sticks her tongue out at me and keeps walking in her own hashish-induced (refer as: assumption) direction.

So we continue to walk in opposite directions, and I think about her in another movie. This time its 'Secretary'. Well, not the movie itself, but the posters that were up all over town at the time advertising it. The main attraction of the poster was a picture of Maggie Gyllenhall from behind, bent over in a pencil skirt.

I figured she could well be quite the tease in real life, but then many people do these types of things when developing first impressions. And women usually don't care if a flirtatious experiment is the last impression, as long as it is them carrying out the experiment.

Its obvious that this woman has sexual confidence, while others may have a more cutesy confidence. For men, its more along the lines of smooth confidence or rough confidence. For me, these are the factors of what determines a person as 'cool'.

But, as Jon said at the Orble Con, you've got to be sure the confidence isn't straight-up arrogance.

See that just ain't cool.

Kinda like being teased by Maggie Gyllenhall.

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Dubbing Fashion Pt 2

June 17th 2008 09:58

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel out of place simply for the fact that everyone is wearing white when you are wearing black? Don't worry, the fashion industry is in the same boat.

If only for the simple fact that they soooo wish they weren't.

While over in the fashionistic strip in Paddington, Sydney the other day, I noticed a man wearing a woman's jacket. Sure it had shoulder pads and it was army green, but take another look and you'll see it to be hugging his waist.

Hugging.. his.. waist.

Prove me if I'm wrong, but men tend to find the opposite sex attractive when they wear clothes that hug their curves - just as women like to see sharpness of the male physique accented. I guess there had to come a time when men would decide to take on hip huggers, just as women have taken to shoulder pads over time (although I hear this is dying out).

Now don't get me wrong, I'll only start complaining when male fashionistas start wearing pencil skirts and corsetry. In the meanwhile, all this fashion space taken up by such liberal ideals should be taken up in politics.

Oh, so it has.

Pink ties are all the rage for the more conservative politicians these days. I can't get that picture of Malcolm Turnbull in one with a dark blue suit out of my mind, or out of the media.

Now they just need to apply these ideals to their policies. I remember David once referring to Kevin Rudd as a metrosexual. Well if Mr Rudd wants to stay wrinkle-free with both his suits and his skin, may I recommend a less polluted environment. Like one without fossil fuels perhaps?

In the meanwhile, everyone in Sydney has been happy with their cars and knowing about the predicted effect of the use of such warming the environment. Unfortunately, winter seems the only season that is guaranteed these days. Damn you, Captain Planet.

So ask me, and I'll say its all about layers. Maximum four. And do try to ignore those deluded souls who think the weather is warmer, and act so by wearing singlets and shorts in 10C weather.

You should know better.

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Danish Films for Beginners

June 7th 2008 08:13

I couldn't go past it. I figured a film called 'Italian for Beginners' from Denmark would at least teach me a bit about the Italian language. I was somewhat misinformed by the title, but got captured into the old mentality of liking something to the point of willing to stick with it for a couple of hours.

The cinematography was a bit like a home video, but only to the degree of making you feel at home in order to prepare the viewer for a rocky ride through a few interesting love stories. Don't get me wrong, this isn't your average entangled vine of red roses and wine. The film focuses on that initial spark that gets things rolling, and is more a sign of hope and warmth as opposed to tragedy and lust

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Mas Que Nada

April 19th 2008 04:52

There's a line from that Brazil 66 song, in the chorus, that harmonises "Ar-i-a-e-o". I've been told that Aria in Spanish translates into the starsign Aries. Of course I was told this by an Aries woman from Spain, but I figure she'd know.

I seem to have met alot of Aries people over the past couple of years, and I find they all make for good friends. I'm an Aquarius, and at a time when I was seeing an Aquarian woman I was told I should find an Aries. Being that my previous relationship was with a Taurus, this line of the stars came highly recommended

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Where was I? Where am I going?!?

March 10th 2008 06:51

This year started off with a bang and some jetlag. After the smoke cleared and my internal alarm clock adjusted, I realised things aren't what they were last year.

Being a full time student again means work is for the weekend, even if I am doing volunteer work throughout the week (will all prospective Community Services employers please stand up). And I'm starting to wonder if I can keep up with my blogs, screenplays and video clips

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Ode to the 389

February 14th 2008 04:53

You know, the bus route that goes through the backstreets of East Sydney, Paddington, Woollhara and Bondi. That 389.

I was heading home from the city, feeling a little groggy from the night before. I was already talking to a friend who was on the bus before me, and some mother talking about the weather

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Rich Ghetto Boys

February 4th 2008 05:42

Since the rise in popularity of all things ghetto, from poor American colloquialism to poor white trash, all you have to do is walk to the closest shopping mall to find a rich ghetto boy.

They are easily spotted. The look on their face and the loose wearing of pre-warn clothes suggests the favela is two blocks south thereof. Alas, as fashion has it, these clothes were bought from the closest Glue or General Pants store, maybe even a skateshop, and will cost you top dollar, head to toe

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All the way with Australia Day!

January 26th 2008 15:43

I'm surprised I did this much on a day that drunken patriots choose to get more drunk than usual.

The highlight for me was not really Australian, it was Belgian. A doozy of a bar which goes by the name of Belgian Beer Cafe. These guys sell fermented barley at twice the volume of alcohol and twice the price, and I was so satisfied with the imported produce that I decided to end the night in the state of bliss that a peaceful watering hole with unique and tasty beer can leave a person with

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Guangzhou and Macau

January 18th 2008 06:29

Southern China, where would the world be without it! The megacity of Canton and the counties/provinces surrounding it are like a stimulant which, taken in large doses, can be very addictive.