The internet has supposedly created an eternal present, but this phrase is tailor made to describe the experience of middle age. It’s a time of reckoning, when you suddenly find that you’re living the future your younger self so excitedly anticipated.In her novel Reunion, Andrea Goldsmith introduces five close friends welded together by emotional, sexual and intellectual bonds. Despite their closeness, each must grapple alone with the dilemmas that beset them at this stage of life. **Plot elements given below**Jack, Helen, Ava and Conrad (‘Connie’), form a tightknit group at Melbourne University in the late 1970s and go on to ...
Archives for “Melbourne”
You may remember that at the Nuffnang Christmas party I met Akisa, the brains behind a cool beauty website called BeautySwatch. I liked her idea so much (a huge colour library containing swatches for thousands of lipsticks) I thought you might be interested to hear more about Akisa and her work with BeautySwatch. Hi Akisa, can you tell me a little bit about your background? I’m a corporate rat by day and BeautySwatch editor by night – I have no affiliations with the beauty industry but do have a love for beauty products and the way they make you feel when you transform ...
Today my recently Melbourne-relocated Sydney friend commented that Melbourne seems to have a particular fascination with Spanish cuisine which wasn’t evident in the Sydney dining scene. I can’t vouch for whether that’s actually true or not, but tonight I found yet another cool restaurant/bar serving Spanish-inspired food. And it was muy bueno. Markov Place is the perfect Melburnian space – an unadorned concrete frontage hides a cool front bar and more. The bar reminded me of shadowy 60s vintage pictures of coiffed women perched on cocktail chairs, profiles silhouetted against the mirror. But walk in a little further down the corridor ...
From Practicing hybrid/interdisciplinary artist seeks studio space with other inspired creatives. 24hr access, lock up & parking required. Fitzroy, Collingwood, City, North & North East suburbs. Flexible warehouse space preferred. Communal rehearsal/jam/gallery space a distinct advantage. Price negotiable, including professional skills trade. Please contact if you have something up for grabs!
We are a boutique graphic design studio looking for a new space. We are looking at a space for 3 people minimum 40sqm. We are also willing to sublet a space. We are looking to rent in St.Kilda, Windsor, Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak, Richmond, Cremorne, South Melbourne, Southbank or the City. If the space is awesome we will consider Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood etc.
Lisa Dempster has written an excellent article on I eat I drink I work exploring the intricacies of the coffee surcharge, from decaf to mocha to - the main interest of this writer - soy milk. I have always hated but accepted with grumpy surliness the soy surcharge imposed by almost every coffee shop, but Lisa's interviews with various coffee vendors has shown that soy really does cost extra, and despite the call that the extra cost should be averaged out over all beverages, the imperative of the business owner to, you know, make a proft from their business makes ...
Lin Tan and I go hunting for the finest gelato in Melbourne. Joyce: When you think about ‘Italian culture’ in Melbourne, you think Carlton. Hence, the perfect place to start our, ‘In The Search For The Perfect Gelato’? – Lygon Street. So what makes a perfect gelato? In our view – small batches, taste, texture and colour. Gelati-making is an artisanal industry, so the gelati must be made daily on the premises, not in a huge manufacturing plant. It must be made with fresh ingredients, especially fresh fruit, and not with the pre-packaged mixture often used in high-volume manufactured gelati, ...
I walk to work and back Monday to Friday, irrespective of weather. Take this morning for example: it was raining mildly when I left the house (affectionately known as the “pad”; it’s actually a warehouse-conversion-townhouse-type thing, not a house, but more on that another time). By the time I was partway through the CBD it was almost bucketing down. I declined to board a tram – being on a tram is one of my least-favourite things, even if I am soaked through to the skin (with squelchy socks to boot). The only thing I was mildly pissed about was no ...
My husband and I are both artists (graphic designer/illustrator) and are seeking a secure creative space that would suit living as well as working from as we’re trying to keep overheads low. We’re neat, mature and friendly, and hoping to find a place to move into in December that would accommodate us as freelance artists. Parking is ideal, but we’re happy to have street parking if available. Prefer space that includes internet connection. Please contact us if you have anything available.
In recent months I’ve written critiques of a series of different websites, including traders’ associations, local guides and more local guides. This post will examine and compare the 8 local government sites (listed below) that cover approximately the same geography as the 10 local news sites I publish for inner city Melbourne. Councils deliver many essential services to ratepayers and local residents, such as building roads and operating libraries, but they don’t identify the delivery of news and information as an essential community service or devote adequate attention to it. Their sites are usually poorly designed and irregularly updated and are ...
A heads up about a couple of art and architecture related events on this week. I am hoping to get to both.Amelia DouglasRecipient of 2009 Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD, University of MelbournePierre Huyghe and the Association of Freed TimePierre Huyghe is one of the most significant artists of the 21st century. His work – encompassing film, architecture, situations, installations and events – has been shown at the TATE Modern, Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, the Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and recently at the Biennale of Sydney ...
Looking for a studio space within a reasonable distance to the city for one architect and one fashion designer. Looking to share the space and amenities with others. No furniture required but space would need to be big enough to have at least two large desks and bookcases etc. In addition to this we are looking for a secure storage space or lock up garage attached or close by. The area of the office space depends on the environment, however the storage ( if included ) would need to be around 20sqm. The attached storage would be good but not essential. Please contact Ben stibhaus@gmail.com 0411 22 ...
As I reported recently, the 10 Melbourne local news sites I have established are all now receiving regular contributions from diverse sources. Each site receives sufficient content to be considered a viable project. It’s now time for the next planned stage of the project. From their inception I have planned to find collaborators to work on the sites as editors, curators and publishers as well as content creators. In time I hope I can find volunteer editors and publishers for each of the sites so they can receive further development from a dedicated member of the community. I realise that the ...
We were in the city recently and decided to satiate our craving for Malaysian food at Nasi Lemak House. Nasi Lemak Traditional Nasi Lemak Traditional comes with coconut rice, fried anchovies, fried peanuts, cucumber, sambal, fried egg, papadam and deep fried drumstick. It’s definitely good value for money seeing this place is located near the city and the portion is generous. The only complain we have is the sambal. Back in Malaysia, the sambal would have been spicy but yet sweet whereas this is spicy and towards the sour-ish side. The chicken is so much better than the one in Rich Maha. ...
Available from June 2010 Large shared studio with attached communal space on the Carlton edge of the CBD. Kitchen and storage area, lots of natural light and a ping pong table. Shared by media artists, photographers, architects and designers. $250/ month includes bills, heating & wireless ADSL2. Call Tanja 0401 662 502 or email tanja@tapeprojects.org
Music. Comedy. Musical Comedy. The greatest art form of all. That was the premise of the two man singing and dancing extravaganza, Art v Smart Casual. Actually, it was brothers Roger David and Fletcher Jones (the latter hilariously nicknamed ‘Ginger Claus’ by the former) donning checked shirts and jeans and cracking jokes, impersonating animal noises and breaking out occasionally into song. I think they could have upped the ante in terms of maintaining energy (more shouting, less mumbling) but some of the jokes had a lot of potential. I particularly liked their segment on ‘Avant-Garde’ (French for ‘I don’t know’), art appreciation ...
Emma and Tom were in town, with their little tyke Sam. ‘Love to catch up – do you know any kid-friendly places where we could have dinner?’. Gosh, very few of my Melburnian friends have children – kid-friendly restaurants has never been on my radar. But then I remembered DOC. It always seemed to be filled with kids. There must be a reason. DOC stands for Denominazione d’Origine Controllata, a mark given to wines and foods from certain regions in Italy. So on one side of DOC’s paper menu there is an appealing list of starters, salads and a pizzas, while on ...
Opening night of She’s My Baby and it was a full house in the cosy Old Council Chambers of the Victorian Trades Hall. The intimate horseshoe shaped setting suited the show’s minimal staging – a frilly pink baby basket, comfy lounge chair and a wooden park bench. She’s My Baby, debuting with the new production company Fifth Gear Productions, was the story of a typical suburban couple raising children, as told through two contrasting monologues. The first half was from the point of view of the new mum (writer and director Adele Shelley) – over-protective, filled with nervous tension and gushing with ...
La Mama is an intimate one-room shoebox tucked away in Carlton, and it’s a terrible/wonderful theatre space. Terrible if you’re stuck with a boring show, as there’s nowhere to hide, snooze or make a hasty escape. Wonderful if you’re sharing the space with a witty, invigorating production, as the sense of intimacy really feels like you’re witness to an exciting secret. UK theatre duo Ridiculusmus have brought their works-in-progress Goodbye Princes, Total Football and A Conversation About Comedy to La Mama as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. David Woods and Jon Haynes are my comedic heroes ever since I saw ...
For a smallish city of 4 million people, I think that the Melbourne restaurant scene is disproportionately vibrant – it seems every month I add yet another dozen new restaurant openings to my must-eat-and-blog list. Yet Melbourne has an even longer list of under-appreciated stalwarts, the restaurants and cafes who do their stuff without celebrities, fanfare and month-long waitlists, but who have, over the years, provided my hungry (and critical) tummy with consistently good food coupled with great service at an affordable price. For me, Donnini’s is one such classic. The relaxed and stylish Italian restaurant is a beacon of culinary light ...
The night started off perfectly. I found a carpark directly out the front of this urbane cool restaurant and wine bar. Little Markov is the name of the bar out the front and once you walk through here you will find Markov Place, a gorgeous looking restaurant with a warm warehouse feel about it. The first thing that comes to mind when I think back to my dining experience at Markov was not of the food but the light fittings. Occasionally the artist in me comes out but rather than paintbrush in hand it is generally ...
When Lygon street comes to mind, Italian restaurants and their pastas and wood fired gourmet pizzas come to mind. Walking along this famous street in Carlton can be a tourist trap with all the maitre d’s beckon poor hungry customers into their restaurants. After watching the awesome movie Up, the usual gang went straight down here to have dinner at one of the few thai restaurants at Lygon. No, we didnt go to the thai institution that is called Ying Thai 2, Royal Aiyara was the destination to fill up with our tummies. Duck Rolls First up for the entrees, my friends ...
I have to literally drag myself up from bed this morning. I was feeling so lazy even though my brain was battling against my tummy for something good to eat for breakfast. Well, make that brunch. I've based my choices on some good reviews from Breakfast Out, which was always a good idea for me to fish out the ones that I find different than your usual breakfast/brunch options. Lucky enough, I found North Cafe from the site. I opened my laptop as I woke up, lingering over whether to go to the Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder, Bistro Flor ...
I have been publishing 10 local news sites for inner city Melbourne for several months now. The local news sites aggregate posts from over 300 contributing sites, collectively syndicate over 5000 posts and new posts are being added nearly every day. To help explain how the syndication strategy works I have prepared this diagram. It illustrates the flow of content out of a contributing site to the local news sites and the links that flow back to the contributing site. Blogs that would benefit from adding suburb data Below are examples of Melbourne blogs that contain content with strong location relevance, yet ...
Warrence and Michael are both bartenders in Melbourne. Warrence is originally from Mauritius, and now works at the Carlton Yacht Club. Favourite cocktail he’s made is made with tequila, a type of bitters I can’t spell (listen to the podcast), pomegranate syrup and pink grapefruit. Michael is originally from Brisbane and now works at Blue Diamond. His favourite cocktail at the moment is a Sazerac, the worlds first cocktail, first made in New Orleans. It has cognac, Peychaud’s bitters, sugar and a lemon twist.
