As part of this year’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, the Melbourne Museum, in conjunction with Italy’s leading archaeological authority, Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei, is presenting an exhibition on the fascinating buried city of Pompeii ‘A Day in Pompeii‘. Having been lucky enough to visit the real location twice and being a regular visitor to the British Museum, I was initially unsure as to what new insights the exhibition could offer me. At the beginning I was a little disappointed by the paucity of artifacts (some replicas) but the museum did a commendable job in placing the ...
Archives for July, 2009
Ah, such is the lot of a soy drinker. Used to being slugged a surcharge for our soy drinking at every turn, this earns grizzles and grumbles but we usually succumb to our caffeine cravings and ask for an extra-large cup anyway. It is my understanding that a coffee loyalty card entitles the bearer to one free coffee after a certain number are purchased. Some restrictions may apply, if published on said card, but in general the coffee purveyor accepts that in exchange for the repeat business of their customers, a small loss may be incurred ...
(our ‘lure’) Pim and Hong came over to Melbourne. And of course one of the top ‘to-do’ list is eating out on Lygon Street, the Italian heart of Melbourne (Seriously, do I sound like a food journo yet? Can I quit my IT job now?) I love Lygon St. Sure it’s a bitch finding parking there on Friday/Saturday night but I just can’t get enough of it. (awww, first date I’m sure) On that night, I could swear all of Melbourne were on Lygon St. Every single restaurant was packed. We couldn’t get a seat at our favourite restaurant but let’s face it pretty ...
Well, the program is out and the Writers Festival is only a few weeks away. As I poured over the list of events and authors, amongst several that I am excited about are two unexpected delights - particularly because I've just recently enjoyed there work: Evie Wyld and Marie Darrieussecq. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Evie Wyld's debut novel, After the Fire A Still Small Voice, the review of which will appear in our August edition of the Readings Monthly. It is a wonderfully assured novel that traverses several time periods to explore the lives of three generations of men. War and displacement create deep emotional ...
Okay I'm calling on everybody who may stumble upon our blog to help me out! I have family visiting soon and I am looking some fun adventures for them. They are here for a week or so and I'm looking for the best free or cheap things Melbourne has to do and see, doesn't need to be in the city necessarily: think far and wide!Hit me with suggestions please!! Your help would be greatly appreciated :)image by Chiaochi @ Sydney
It looks like we could have a new iPhone wallpaper contender.
Tuesday 25 August 2009 at 6:30pmReadings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053Renate’s new book, A Century of Influence: A History of the Australian Student Christian Movement 1896-1996 explores the Australian Student Christian Movement which has provided a forum for exploring spirituality and social issues in the nation’s universities for over a century. Described as a ‘university within a university’ the ASCM has had a national and international influence and has inspired leading academics, politicians, public servants, business leaders and clergy to put their faith into action. Renate Howe draws on a rich range of material from libraries, private collections and oral histories. She tells the inspiring story of the progressive ...
Matt Preston's review of Tre Bicchieri informs me what Tre Bicchieri actually means. I could regurgitate it here, but you should probably read his review. Nice use of quotation marks around "baked eggs". He doesn't mention the coffee until the last sentence, which is funny, because I've been there about twenty times and only ever mentioned the coffee.It seems I've missed the point.It's a wine bar.
Seven Seeds (114 Berkeley St, Carlton) is a new venture that is opened by Mark Dundon. He is known for his passion for coffee. Other outlets that you may be aware of are St. Ali in South Melbourne & Baba Budan on Little Bourke Street. The spacious & high ceiling cafe is set up in a warehouse. On the right when you enter, you are greeted with a wall covered with bicycle racks.
I love this place, it’s one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne because it’s easy – you can go there for a full meal or just desert and know that you will get consistently good food and service. This restaurant is very aptly named “cafe italia” – the atmosphere is just beautiful, it really does feel like you are in a nice little cafe in Italy. Tucked away in a laneway off Lygon St, walking into cafe italia feels like you are walking into someone’s private courtyard. The garden style setting is perfect for a nice leisurely lunch in summer ...
I could make so many right now, but I think my resident pun-dit, Phil has done it all already. For example, there is, “it wasn’t that offal, was it?” or “Oh, that looks offal.” Just stuff your dad would say… Anyways, I made an agreement with the kitchen boys that I could make them a couple of mixed CDs. One of stuff I like, and one of stuff I secretly like. The confusing thing about this though, is that I can’t tell them which one is which, and from the music I put on there, I am not sure they will be able to differentiate. I ...
I used to think that people who toted around Moleskine notebooks were pretentious toffs. The kind of people who were self-centered enough to believe that their amazing, original, creative, inspired thoughts only deserved to be recorded in an expensive leather-bound notebook when a $1 spiral pad would do just as well. Confession: I am now a Moleskine carrier. In my defence (a) I was given it as a leaving gift from my last job (hence it has a TV broadcaster’s logo emblazoned the cover); and (b) sometimes I do so much stuff in a day that I simply can’t remember where ...
Cinema Nova launched its season of ballet filmed in HD ‘The World’s Greatest Ballets‘ with a screening of Pharaoh’s Daughter as performed by the Bolshoi Ballet in 2003. Now the the Royal Opera House is no longer a 30 minute tube ride from my house, I’ve really come around to the idea of seeing opera and ballet at the cinema, but I have to say that this screening was a disappointment. The ballet itself was enjoyable, with sumptuous costumes, numerous large set changes from Egyptian temples to underwater seascapes, beautiful classical Russian technique danced with pincer-like precision, laughable 19th century colonialist ...
Julian calls to say we'll have an early dinner tonight. Okay! He'll be 'round to pick us up at 4 p.m. Okay?!!!We have no clue as to what we'll be going, except that there's a mention of pizza. True enough he comes by after picking up the girlfriend from work - early day off.After a short drive we're at this corner shop with few tables and chairs by the curbside. The place is empty of customers. Four of us must be the first customers of the day. It's a simple setup, with a prominent drinks counter, a red manual ...
Thursday 13 August 2009 at 6:00pmReadings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053Robert Connolly will launch the revised edition of Jill Jolliffe’s book Balibo on which the film of the same name is based. Jill Jolliffe reveals previously hidden details of one of the most shameful episodes in Australia’s history, she brings to light new material about Roger East, and details the 2007 Glebe inquest into the death of Brian Peters. Jill has been following the Balibo Five story for 34 years. Balibo is now a major Australian motion picture by Robert Connolly and David Williamson and stars Anthony LaPaglia. Free. No need to book. A pre-release screening will then show ...
Monday 17 August 2009 at 6:30pmReadings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053Footy season! Join us as authors of Footy Passions Joy Damousi and John Cash chat with Jeff Richardson of the ‘Coodabeen’ Champions about salary caps, drunken escapades, sponsorship deals, and teams enjoying victory and surviving defeat dominate coverage of football. weekly. What hooks fans back in and why do they care so much? In this riveting and moving book, AFL fans talk about the emotions associated with the game and how it gives meaning to their lives, showing that football is more than just a game. Free, but please book on 9347 6633 or by email.
Aviary, by Anna Barnes, Dan Giovannoni and Ming-Zhu Hii Branch @ La Mama @ Faraday Street Wed.15 Jul. to Sat. 01 Aug. Aviary is a performance consisting of three plays. The construction of the aviary is the work of Melanie Beddie (director) and the Branch Theatre Company. Its enclosed form is shown by a unity of design across set (Darryl Cordell), sound (Natasha Anderson), lights (Bronwyn Pringle) and the use of an ensemble cast (Chloe Gordon, HaiHa Le, Carl Nilsson-Polias). The texts introduced into this arrangement, written by Anna Barnes, Dan Giovannoni and Ming-Zhu Hii, are, then, the avian inhabitants we, the audience, are ...
Over the past few days. Ms TN and the man to whom she's a spectacularly Bad Wife (although, of course, a deeply empathic partner and awesome literary colleague) have been discussing whether to revisit Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, which both of us saw on opening night at the Malthouse. It ended up being a peculiarly Kierkegaardian dialogue."I think," said my beloved, "that I'd prefer to stay home.
Monday 10 August 2009 at 6:30pmReadings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053What better way to while away a winter evening? Three poets, wine and some fine readings. Patricia Sykes is a poet and librettist whose libretti The Navigator has just had a successful run at the Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Moscow. Luke Beesley grew up in Brisbane and is a poet and musician. His first collection of poetry is Lemon Shark. Susan Hawthorne’s sixth and latest collection of poetry, Earth’s Breath, is based on her experience of Cyclone Larry. Free. Bookings on 9347 6633 or by email.
Wednesday 12 August 2009 at 6:30pmReadings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053The book Nude by the RedBubble community reminds us that under all the bling, masks and labels, there is great beauty in the human form, with all of it's variety, strength and grace. If we can stop for a moment our obsession with projecting on ourselves what we could or should and instead appreciate how we are, perhaps we would see that each of us is as uniquely beautiful as a fingerprint Free. No need to book.
Maybe it was because it was early-ish on the Sunday morning, but it was pretty quiet when I visited Design:Made:Trade at the Royal Exhibition Building. The event was part of the State of Design Festival, intended to “showcase Australia’s small manufacturers, product designers, and design makers to an audience of manufacturers, retail and export buyers and the public“. Almost all of the stalls were very beautifully presented; and there were quite a number of jewellers. I would love to have taken some photographs, but a sign at the entrance clearly stated no photography or sketching – this is the first time ...
Aviary at La Mama is an elegant showcase for three young writers: Anna Barnes, Dan Giovannoni and Ming-Zhu Hii. It stems from an intriguing premise, which in its way is exemplary: director Melanie Beddie commissioned these short works using Darryl Cordell's striking design as the creative stimulus. This immediately throws the focus onto the space, demanding that the writers think in three
Balzari130 Lygon Street Carlton, VIC 3053Balzari was disappointing. The place just lacked any passion in the food, coffee or service. Five of us went for Sunday brunch. The guys left quite hungry as the serving sizes were quite small. Between us we had eggs, French toast, muesli and Italian donuts. The eggs came on toast that was burnt around the edges. The French toast was on very thin and small toast - sacrilege for French toast where you want thick pieces of toast to soak up that wonderful sauce. The muesli was okay. The cafe latte was okay but the ...
This place started off really well. It has a nice set of couches at the front, an open area looking out onto Elgin St, perfect for a drink before dinner. The menu is a good mix between pizza / pasta and meat / salad dishes and offers gluten free pizza, pasta and garlic bread. However it all went downhill as soon as the food came out – or in my case, didn’t come out. We were a table of 6 people and my meal didn’t arrive until about 10 minutes after everyone else had finished their meals. When it did ...
Oh and l forgot to let you know...l went back to Birdie Num Nums today for a coffee and a muffin (l know!!! all that walking wasted on muffin calories)Check out my website for a more detailed review of "Birdie" and don't forget to subscribe!Til next timeEnjoy!xowww.heybambini.com.au
