The grey lining

I was watching this show the other night that kept showing footage of Trump  "mocking disabled reporter". Now that was some totally fucked up shit. One of the many, many, many things you just can not believe happened. But the thing that made me feel good when I watched it was that I would bet my life that if that had happened in Australia, if some political candidate did such a thing here they would have been gone petty much instantly. Their party backing gone, instant dismissal. Gone. I mean there may be a strong undercurrent of misogyny in this country and some fairly overt racism but at least there is a sense that you've got to at least treat individuals with respect and generally not make fun of people. Unless you're a cartoonist. Then you can make fun of anyone. And get paid. But you definitely can't do that if you're a politician. If you're going to say fucked up shit about people as a politician you have to couch it in moderate language. Or at least not act like an 8-year-old kid teasing someone. Sure politicians here can create policies that are racist and mean (no entry ever to people settled elsewhere if they've attempted to arrive here by boat anyone?) but at least you can't mock the disabled. I'm pretty sure. Yay Australia. I guess.  

What's happening?

I would never rarely give someone a hard time for thinking someone was a hunk. Especially a pretty boy. I LOVE them pretty. I mean I thought Paul Walker was a hunk after seeing Skulls. RIP PW. 

Sure I have a couple of issues with K's crush. Like, I don't really think he's that pretty. His eyes are too small for his big lips and all his features are squashed into the centre of his big face. Or maybe it's something about the nose. But having said that I've never seen him in anything and we all know a hunk animated is completely different to a 2D image of some guy. I mean I've barely even seen this guys face in any other guise than his Star Trek character and who the fuck knows why or when I've even seen that. Secondly I don't know if I'm imagining it but I feel like there is some kind of visual similarity between him and his Australian politician namesake. I know there isn't really but maybe something about the eyes. Or maybe it's my imagination. 

Either way that guy is not for me. So says I now. It would probably be a completely different story if I'd seen Hell or High Water. 

But who can think about hunks when what happened in America yesterday happened. You know that thing about how people say Americans are idiots and then you say well come on you can't make generalisations like that about entire nations and look at all the great things that came out of America. I mean, there really are heaps of great things. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Shake Shack.

And yet...

K and I had a pretty insightful discussion about the Trump issue via text message yesterday. So instead of me rehashing it here I'll just let you read our text conversation. 

 

Who knows what to believe (PM)

There was a time, not that long ago, where the sheer volume of republican candidates seemed to be the most ridiculous thing about this pre-election period. That Donald Trump was one of them seemed to highlight this ridiculousness. As in, there are so many candidates, even Donald Trump is a candidate. Ha! 

Obviously we all stopped laughing shortly after that. 

It feels to me like we're in the political version of a David Lynch film. It's all dazzle dazzle technicolor abject terror. 

And yeah, at least we don't have to live in America but all those Americans do. 

For me, the only at least is the babies for Bernie phenomenon. 

Because I love babies dressed as old people. 

Who knows what to believe (AM)

Last night on the news I saw an American woman say, "I'm sick of America looking like a laughing stock to the rest of the world." I bet you are are sweetheart.

She was just some vox pop on a story about how Trump had won the Nevada caucus so convincingly and the implication, given she was standing near a bunch of people in TRUMP t-shirts, was that she was saying that is why she is voting for Trump. She wants Trump to be the candidate so finally America doesn't have to be a laughing stock anymore.

Now we're all pretty savvy, just because a piece of footage shows a person saying something doesn't mean they are saying what the television wants us to think. Just because this woman looked a little like a well manicured version of this:

And was standing around a bunch of Trump supporters doesn't mean she was actually supporting Trump and saying what most would consider possibly the most ironic statement of all time. She could have been saying the exact opposite but the point is someone is supporting Trump, right?

I remember when Obama was first running to be candidate thinking, well this guy sounds good, but would America really vote a black man as president. But the ground swell grew and it looked more and more likely and then... well I guess they weren't as fucked as I thought.

And I remember when Trump started running and then became an actual contender and I was thinking, well this guy sounds like a fucking idiot, surely even the Republicans couldn't nominate this guy as the candidate. But could it possibly be that they are even more fucked than I thought. I mean I know this whole process will continue for months and anything can happen, but still it really makes you wonder, right? That this repulsive man could even get this far.

I know there's this whole backlash against the heady libertarian America Obama has created (HA!) but sheesh.

And yet...maybe it's not even worth thinking about. All the Republican candidates seem to be gun-loving, abortion-damning climate change sceptics that I find pretty offensive. Marco Rubio sounds like a pretty open-minded guy though: "I'm theologically in line with the Roman Catholic Church. I believe in the authority of the church, but I also have tremendous respect for my brothers and sisters in other Christian faiths." That's so great that he can respect other Christians. The world will be fine with him at the helm of USA, a man that has such respect for diversity.

So I guess Trump schmump. At least I don't have to live in America.

Living the dream (PM)

I just watched the trailer for the film Thirst and now I'm feeling a little moved. 

It could be because I'm jetlagged. It could be because I have a weird soft spot for Melanie Griffith because of the film Working Girl. But it was probably the fact that I had just read about Monica Sonand, and I find what she's doing impressive and pretty inspirational really. 

Plus, it must be said that the film score is itself quite moving, so I'm really just feeling very natural feelings and I'm not some weird sap who gets misty-eyed about everything. 

No way. 

I'm looking forward to what Monica Sonand does next, and the fact that finding out will probably involve a choc-top is just a bonus and is not related to my interest levels at all. 

Living the dream (AM)

Australia is always accusing itself of suffering from tall poppy syndrome but have you seen how wild we go when an Australian wins an Oscar or gets cast as a super hero?! We love it! But you know, before a person wins an Oscar or is cast as a superhero they usually have to work really hard doing awesome things and I wonder why we don't talk about that more, about the people working hard on awesome things. Sure not everyone is going to play Thor or win an Oscar but there is lots of great stuff happening out there worth taking notice of. 

Melbourne musician Monica Sonand was working a day job and writing music on the side before deciding to move to LA to study film scoring and technical score engineering at UCLA. It wasn't long before she started getting work. Not just anywhere, mind you, no. Monica has been working at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions as a Film Score Technical Engineer. Yes I said Hans Zimmer, the guy that has scored probably every second movie you've seen, from The Lion King to 12 Years a Slave. But we're not here to talk about Hans. 

While at Remote Control Productions Monica worked on the scores on an impressive list of films including Oliver Stone's Savages and Ron Howard's Rush, for which she had to watch Chris Hemsworth all day long.* Yep, the rest of us are definitely in the wrong line of work. And while we're on the topic of setting scores to Australian actors, Monica also created much of the music for TV series Chicago Fire, starring Jesse Spencer. Yep, bringing Aussies together even though Spencer is totally oblivious of the fact. Oh, the lot of the Film Score Technical Engineer, working alone in a dark studio while Jesse Spencer rides on a fire truck. 

Monica in the studio

But as if a move to Hollywood and a job alongside some of the industry's best names wasn't enough, this month Monica was in Switzerland for the Locarno Film Festival for the short film Thirst, to which she travelled with the film's director, Rachel McDonald and star, Melanie Griffith. 

Monica (right) with the Thirst team at Locarno

Monica and Rachel met through Remote Control on the film It's Complicated. When Rachel came to direct Thirst, she liked idea of working with a female composer and when she heard the piece Monica wrote for the film Rachel was sold. The piece became the theme of the film and no wonder! Check it out in the trailer. 

After hanging out in Switzerland with Melanie Griffith and a bunch of movie making whizzes I'm pretty sure Monica will be doing something awesome next. And now I'm starting to think I need a dream so I can pursue it and do something awesome too! 

*This job probably involved other stuff too, like, you know doing her actual job. 

Take me out to the ball game (PM)

Ugh I find cricket so boring, I can only imagine I would find baseball equally unbearable. Though I guess baseball has a few things going for it that cricket doesn't.

1. It's from America, therefore exotic

2. I know nothing about it, therefore mysterious

3. It would give me a chance to say "Hey,  batter batter batter sa-wing batter", therefore satisfying my love of saying things I've heard in movies

4. People watch it in movies all the time, therefore satisfying my love of doing things people do in movies

Ipso facto, no wonder it's a fun day out!

Take me out to the ball game (AM)

On Sunday, Appleheart and I went to the ball game—the New York Mets vs the Chicago Cubs.
We decided to see the Mets because eveyone always goes and sees the Yankees, which makes the Mets kind of like the underdogs. Also, John Stewart barracks for the Mets and Appleheard is a real John Stewart fan boy. Also, their mascot is great—a guy with baseball for a head called Mr Met.

I know nothing about baseball.  It seems that watching A League of Their Own a lot as a kid does not prepare you for this game.

It's played on a field that looks like the wifi symbol.

There are 9 innings. It's a pretty slow game. It feels like it should be fast and full of razzle dazzle, but it is kind of slow. I mean, it's slower than cricket. Every time a batter hits a ball he has to run. Even if he (or she, in A League of Their Own) knows (s)he is not doing to make it. So people knew they're going to be out when they start running.  What's exciting about that? Nothing, if you ask me.

In between innings they try a few things out to spruce up the game. At one point, they gave an American flag to a guy who served in Iraq. At another point, Mr Met came out and threw a bunch of tshirts into the crowd. At another point, they got three kids out of the crowd to play a round of Simon Says with the Dunkin Donuts mascot, a giant cup called Cuppy. No kidding.

It's like they know the game isn't interesting enough on its own.

Half way through the game only one home run had been scored. Even nerdy teenagers probably get more home runs than than in this day and age. I didn't, but others would. For sure.

In the end, the Cubs won with a score  of 2 home runs to the Mets 0. Apparently the home team has won every time these two  teams have played this year, until today. More evidence to support my sneaking suspicion that my barracking for a team constitutes the kiss of death.

Regardless, it was actually a super fun day. I've got some photos of it to share with you all, but they' are on Appleheart's camera and he is having a nap right now. You know how sitting in the sun all day can really take it out of you. I'll try to update the post with photos later. 

Big Easy Eating (AM)

We are in New Orleans! It's hot and sweaty and swampy and just like the movies have led us all to expect.

In New Orleans, no one says 'hello', they all say 'How y'all doin?'. You would think it would get annoying but it's really very charming. People are very friendly and people in cars always, I mean always, usher you across the street in front of them if you're waiting to cross the road. I think it might be that famous southern hospitality thing. They ALL do it ALL the time. It's lovely. 

Part of the reason we chose New Orleans for our summer holiday is because of the good eating, which we've pursued with abandon. We adopted a 'let every meal count' policy. It means we're not going to eat anything that isn't worth it. So no matter how hungry and tired and irritable we are from wandering around all day like one does when one is traveling, we have agreed to never just duck in to some crappy place and get a quick sandwich or something. Every meal has to be worth it. So far we have not needed to even mention the agreement, let alone invoke it. The sandwiches at the crappy places are better than the sandwiches at the good places. New Orleans food rules. 

We've had a shedload of top shelf food experiences but I thought I'd narrow it down to two for the purposes of this post.

The first one was at a place called Bacchanal which is in the Bywater, by the Mississippi.
This place is a wine shop and and a restaurant. It's totally bourgeois, but the restaurant is outside in a garden and in this hot steamy nights, it's a pretty lovely place to be. 

We ate grilled baby octopus, peppers stuffed with crab, and and a hanger steak with chilli and parsley dressing. The best thing, however, were dates stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in bacon. Good god. They were out of this world.

None of this stuff is unique to New Orleans, it is the kind of thing you can get at any number of places in any number of cities. It was just such an excellent version of that kind of food, and in such an incredibly lovely setting, that I think it's going to stand out.

The other top food experience so far is pretty dang New Orleans. Or Louisiana. Or just American South. It was fried chicken at Willie Mae's Scotch House.

This place is kind of a dive from the outside. But the smell of fried chicken was to our noses like the song of sirens to the ears of the sailors. 

This is what we found inside.

Three pieces of fried chicken and a side of chips. And a giant coke. Also, a cornbread muffin which is not pictured, but was actually quite  delicious. But who the eff cares about cornbread, it's the fried chicken I'm here to talk about. It was juicy and succulent and though fried within an inch of it's (after) life, surprising non-greasy. The coating had just the right amount of spice to create a little heat-buzz in the mouth, while not taking away from the chickeny flavour. It was completely and utterly delicious and I can see why America has such a serious obesity problem. This is a completely unjustifiable meal from the point of view of nutrition and calories and all that jazz, but I have no doubt, absolutely no doubt we will go back for more before we leave. 

The greatness of the food here in New Orleans made the fact that I missed out on Sleepover Chutney Club easier to take. Blizzie hosted everyone at their beach house and if there's one thing I like more than 30 degree heat it's being at the beach when it's cold. There's something so beautiful about it. Anyway, I am really hoping J can use this afternoon's post to give us a run down on everything that was swapped and everything that was consumed. Also, there's been talk of something called Danish Bowl. Please provide some advice on this. 

2013 - The Most Five (AM)

Woot! It's here y'all. Holiday time. I am on holidays. And soon, I hope, K will be too. And today is our MSC break up day. YEAH! You know lots of blogs and newspapers and magazines and radio shows and television shows like to round up the year with top five lists. Best moments, worst moments, that kind of jazz. And here at MSC HQ we like to reflect on the year too. But something occurred to me while looking back on the year. First really, how the eff would I do any kind of top list? I mean, what do you base your answer on. And second, so many of my highs were somehow entwined with the lows. So for you I have my five most list. Just a bunch of things that made me most laugh, cry, and fall in love all over again. In no particular order.

1. Blur. Well, I've said it before, but how can I not say it again. Definitely one of the best moments of the year was when the Big Day Out announced Blur were playing. ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS OF THE YEAR! And without a doubt that moment when my heart was ripped out and fell, like so many bloody lumps on the butcher's floor, barely beating to the floor... well that was one of the worst.

2. Baby is so lingual. And it is awesome. He is also really inquisitive. Which is also great, of course. But gee, having to answer 50,000 "why?" questions a day can be rough. Real rough. But his ever increasing vocabulary is generally a real joy. The other night as he was getting ready for bed he was looking at a book and I said, "Is that the book you want to read tonight." And he replied by saying, "No, I want a different book tonight, you fucko!" I had to leave the room I needed to laugh so much and when I tried to tell LB the story I was in tears and could not get the words out past the laughter. Still, he said it a little aggressively and I certainly don't want him calling people fucko. Most best and most worst. Again.

3. Visiting Mondonna in LA and then the Big Apple! What fun, what laughs. But gee it was tiring. And a bit hard. But I went to the motherflipping desert. And that was really the most. And best. That whole trip was great, but the California desert. WHOA! 

4. Hair and nails! Remember how I got a manicure in New York and then I was all "Hey! I'm gonna get manicures all the time!" And then I got one in Melbourne and it was chipped within 3 days. Remember how I got that haircut I hated (of course you do! I have barely spoken of anything else since.) I feel like I have been on some crazy journeys with these keratin filled biomaterials. And I haven't necessarily liked it. But hey, that is what is great about the year's end! You get to put all the shit from that year in the past and move on. Oh sure, time - it's just some theoretical concept, but what isn't!

5. Babies! I've met some rad babies this year produced by some of the finest people I know. And next year I'll meet some more rad babies. The most!

I hope K has some great mosts.

And I hope everyone is about to have some great holidays and festivities.

See you on the flip side!

Oh! Ewan! James! I'm so glad you could drop by today! Sure, you can bring your friend Chiwetel.

In praise of condiments (PM)

America's ability to harness the power of condiments really is one of the great things about America. It sounds frivolous but it's not, it's true. Condiments' raison d'etre is to make things more delicious. To jack up the flavour of this or that, according to the eater's preferences. Who wouldn't want that? Australia, apparently. Seriously, catch up Australia!
I like how at diners and cafes they usually have salt, pepper and a range of condiments on the table, and you know what that says to me? It says "we want you to find what you're eating delicious, and we recognise that sometimes that might take a little extra, so here's a little something extra".
It's a great nation that can recognise that people just want to have a delicious time, and can help them do that through wide availability of condiments. I very great nation.
But, you're talking to someone who has so many condiments in their fridge sometimes it's hard to find room for actual food. So yeah, I'm in praise of condiments. You bet you're life I am.

In praise of condiments (AM)

One might say that in respect to condiments America has gone too far. Fluffernutter?! A spread that combines peanut butter and marshmallow?! Unnecessary. And yet I think it is the American love of the condiments that makes me kind of love America.

Lets examine some recent experiences and find out whether America is condiment crazy or condiment can-do! (What?)

1. In LA we were having breakfast at a chain store bakery cafe joint. It was perfectly fine and LB ordered a bread basket for which they gave him no less than six spreads! Wanting to experience the true America I started shoving a knife I all the jars getting some of all them spreads on the bread.  Mostly it was jams but then I tried some I identified brown goo and discovered it was speculoos spread. Speculoos spread!!! In case you don't know a speculoo is a spicy European biscuit that is quite crunchy and delicious and those crazy yanks have turned it into a spread! A gooey, spicy, sweet spread. Ok, it turns out the Belgians made it into a spread but those crazy yanks are importing it. Why doesn't Australia have the gumption to do that? Could I eat it all the time? Hells no, but would it be a delicious spreadable breakfast treat? Hells yeah!

2. Remember that thing I said about sandwiches in LA, well, I think that Americans just really know their way around a sandwich and its not just the fillings, it's the way they put them together and then add condiments. I think. The one that took the cake was a sandwich I ate the other day at Chealsea Market. It was a roasted cauliflower sandwich that I did not have high hopes for, but it was really, very good. Oh sure the combination of spiced cauliflower, lettuce and grated carrot was good, but it was the chilli mayonnaise that really made it. And the fact they give you a side of hot sauce. I mean, why don't sandwich makers ask you, "You want hot sauce?" With every sandwich order? Catch up, Australia. 

Condiments for life! 

I went to LA (AM)

So last week I was in Los Angeles. It is a pretty strange place. Before I went I couldn't imagine myself there at all, I guess because I just couldn't really imagine it. Things I think of when I think of LA include, but are not limited to: Entourage; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Beverley Hills 90210; Boyz in he Hood; Pretty Woman; beaches; freeways. But you see these things are all somewhat incongruous and also I felt pretty sure that only a few people fit into the 90210 category and a few people fit in the Boyz in the Hood category so what the fuck goes on in the rest of it. Right? Am I right?

I guess I still don't even know. I know a little bit (teensy, tiny) about Santa Monica and Venice. I know their vibes at least, kinda, but LA is giant and in between the pockets of action, my limited experience tells me there are mostly empty streets. I mean there are cars, but no people. Mondonna was very awesome and picked us up at the airport and let us stay at her place. It totally ruled. As we were driving to her place I couldn't really imagine places with life because there were really no people around. Though to be fair it was Sunday morning. And even once we got to Mondon's place I couldn't imagine where all the alleged action of Santa Monica was. And then, a twenty minute walk west brings you to shops and restaurants and a pier so packed with people we could barely walk with a pusher. I did not see a lot of that huge city but I saw that a lot. Empty streets and suddenly BAM, a bunch of people! Heaps of 'em. 

Even though I thought I couldn't imagine the place, once I was in LA it turned out my subconscious had expected plenty, because so much seemed totally expected. Like the tall palms and wide streets of Beverly Hills; waitresses telling customers things like "oh, right now I'm doing improv at the Groundlings"; table neighbours saying things like, "My friend is friends with Mirando Kerr so she and Orlando were at my friend's wedding so none of the guests were allowed to take photos"; big freeways; the crazy grossness of Venice Boardwalk. But some things were not expected. There are trees everywhere. And the green was a goddamn delight to my eyes. Venice beach is great, as long as you are nowhere near the boardwalk, it's beautiful with hills in the distance and an expanse of sand, the likes of which I have rarely seen. Sitting on an LA beach was a true delight I did not really anticipate. And the food is consistently good, the sandwiches, I mean they were all really good. They can really make the shit out of a salad sandwich, you guys. And there is the weird, not completely unexpected voyeur-exhibitionist element. Like Muscle Beach, a gym on the beach where people an just go and pump iron in public, the skate park was surrounded by so many people watching the skaters, and along the beach there are all these circus training spots. I don't know what they are actually, but there are high rings and ropes to climb and I saw tight rope walkers, just people doing this stuff and other people watching. That's kind of strange, right?

And when you drive into the hills the is all this nature, tall trees, then desert. Right there in the city, you guys!

LA. I don't quite get it, but I kinda like it.

Here I come (PM)

Oh, geez. I wonder what happened to that bollard. I hope he feels better soon.

Well, Mate, your European holiday looks and sounds beautiful. Those swans! Forget about it! And Iceland. Whoa!

But Melbourne has nice things like friends. And beautiful wintery parklands.

The last vestiges of autumn.

Maybe if you are lucky I will even cook you a delicious meal.

Wait does this sound familiar? 

In truth, it's pretty unlikely I'll cook you a meal, because in 3 weeks I’m heading to the North American summer. Where I will be seeing things like this:

And eating things like this:

Yeah, USA, here I come!

Gumbo! (AM)

On Easter Monday, Rumpy came over so we could watch some TV shows that he acquired through completely legal means, but we nevertheless needed a computer to watch.
We took the opportunity to make and eat some delicious things.
Having the whole day at home in front of the tele presented a good opportunity to make something that requires a lot of time on the stove but yields mega-delicious results. We chose Gumbo.

I'm sure you all know what Gumbo is, on account of Melbourne's latest food truck sensation, the Gumbo Kitchen. Neither of us have been there. Or should I say, neither of us have eaten Gumbo there. Apparently Rumpy has been several times and fully intends to eat Gumbo,  but always gets sidelined by the Po'boy.

Picture of Rumpy's actual Gumbo kitchen po'boy, which I got him to send me just so I could set up the following joke:

Fair enough too, look at that pretty baby all chock-full of fried shrimp. What more can a po'boy do? (heh. Thanks guys)
Anyway, long story short, neither of us had ever eaten Gumbo before so didn't really know what to expect.
All we knew was that it is a delicious sounding thing from the deep south of the US of A. Louisiana in fact, which we all know used to be a French colony until the famous Louisiana purchase in 1803. Happily, the famous Louisiana purchase occurred after the French had an opportunity to impart their cooking techniques, hence the Gumbo began with the making of a roux.

A roux is a combination of butter and flour that is cooked over low heat to form the basis of a sauce. If you've ever made bechamel, you've started with a roux. What I didn't know is the longer you cook a roux, the darker and more intense it becomes. So, after about ten minutes, the roux looked like this:

That's your traditional blonde roux. An hour later, it turned in to a brown roux that looked like this:

WOW, right?
Wow.
Once the roux was done, we could get down to business. The business o f sautéing a mountain of chicken and ham. 

Yeah we did!

 Now some people like to make their gumbo with a little seafood. The recipe we followed had none, but who am I to complain when there is a mountain of chicken and ham involved? I'm no one and I would never do that.
So like I said, we sauteed the chicken and ham then set this little protein party aside while we sauteed a bunch of your garden variety aromatics: some celery, garlic, onion and capsicum and tomato...

...before being brought together along with some chicken stock, chilli sauce, allspice, bay leaves and thyme.

Not the prettiest.

Then, we watched a bunch of TV while that little baby simmered away and filled my house with the smell of delicious. So far so easy, right?

About an hour and a half later, we were ready to add the final ingredient: Okra. Apparently this is an essential ingredient of gumbo, and has natural thickening properties. In it went before I had a chance to photograph it, but basically it looked like a whole bunch of sliced okra.

Half an hour or so of TV later and we were all done and ready to serve.

Ten seconds later we were ready to eat.

Gumbo about to get got. 

I ate this very bowl readers and while it may not look like much, I can assure you it was a total mind blower. It  tastes exactly, and I mean exactly like delicious. It was so comforting and familiar, while also tasting like none of the things I have tasted before. And so rich. But also kind of light.
You know how indian curries are all deep and intense, and thai curries are all light and fresh, but also kind of intense? Well Gumbo is like the mid point between the two. Spicy and hearty and rich, but with this breezy deliciousness that makes it go down so so fine.

Readers, I loved it.  Simple, lazy and like a party in my mouth.

Thanks Gumbo.

Some things I saw one time (final word)

You mean this Zoltar who I met the very same day at Fisherman's Wharf???

Some things I saw one time (AM)

One time I went to San Francisco and we went to Fisherman's Wharf and saw this old toys museum. Not toys really, games, arcade games.

Some 'games' were games. Some 'games' were just weird things with dancing guys in them.

Or monkeys.

Of course there were also psychic games. Like this one that you ask a question so you can "find out" the answer. It's pretty likely that any question you may have is represented here.

Mummy's answer?! What?

Then we saw a segway tour. HAHAHA.

A day in Melbs

Dottie's bathroom is fantastic! Is it fantastic? It looks fantastic! With your stories of Dottie and pictures of her house I can really imagine her. She is fleshed out by the many Queens' old ladies I have seen on the TV and in the movies. Thanks Hollywood!

That bathroom reminds me of a bathroom I went to recently. A toilet actually. And it only reminds me of it insofar as it was a place with a toilet and some notable decorations. It was at a cafe though and it was ironic, or whatever, so it was not quite as exciting as Dottie's bathroom. But I was there when I was meant to be on a plane to Adelaide and I'd woken up at 5am or something. So I was in a really weird place and in a really of weird place.



I guess it was really nice of Tyrone to let you ride the bus for free. But what is with the American aversion to change. There is always so much goddamn change floating around, everything cost something dollars and 53 cents, but when you try and make up that cents amounts with cents they look at you like you are some kind of freak show. As a result of this I ended up with so much damn change when I got home.



On the flip side they also freak out when you try to pay with big bills. When I first got to America on my holiday I tried to pay for two coffees (regular size) and two snacks at a Starbucks with a 50 dollar bill. An $8 purchase with a $50 bill. Not so crazy, right? I mean I just needed two 20s and then some in change. But the dude totally flipped out. At motherflipping Starbucks. I mean, surely dude had a few 20s in the till. Not that I want to come down on USA. That place is great. Wish I was there.

Instead I am in Melbourne which is also nice. For example, today I enjoyed a coffee and muffin in a park


and bought some more socks to see me through the winter. Can't complain about that.