Fitzroyalty

Hyperlocal news about Melbourne's first suburb: Fitzroy 3065

Monthly archives: March 2008

satisfying my inner Central European

31 March 2008 | Comments Off

I’ve begun to realise how interested I am in Central Europe. I’ve been obsessed with the books of Czech author Milan Kundera for many years, and have published on him, including the article A Big Piece of Nonsense for His Own Pleasure: The Identity of Milan Kundera (48kb PDF), and also enjoy other works, such as Karel Capek‘s War with the Newts.

I also find myself taking every opportunity to eat at restaurants offering Central European food, including Paprika Hussar (Hungarian, sadly closed as of December 2008) and Borsch Vodka and Tears (Polish) in Melbourne, and the Doma Bohemian Beer Cafe (Czech), Una’s (German / Austrian / Swiss) and Lowenbrau (German) in Sydney.…

lunch at Stonyridge winery, Waiheke Island

30 March 2008 | Comments Off

With only two days and one night on Waiheke Island, I tried to make the most of my time. Lunch on the first day was at Stonyridge Winery, which proved to provide an amazing lunch, though I was disappointed with their wine. Three of the four available for the tasting (4 wines for $5) were not grown on Waiheke – some of the wines were made from grapes sources from Marlborough and some from Australia!…

Vino Vino on Waiheke Island

29 March 2008 | 1 Comment

When I went to Auckland recently I spent two days on Waiheke Island, which is about 40 minutes by ferry to the east of Auckland. It’s primarily rural and wine country, very touristy, with lovely beaches and a relaxed holiday atmosphere, though it is also a suburb of Auckland and people commute to the city from there by ferry every day.

wineries wine travel new zealand food drink customer service beaches auckland …

wear your funky glasses to Dizengoff

28 March 2008 | Comments Off

A good breakfast establishes the potential of a good day. In Auckland, the SBS newsreader funky glasses types congregate at Dizengoff in Ponsonby for possibly the best coffee in the city. It is of the minimalist white wall style – the colour is provided by the clients not the decor. It was also voted best cafe in Ponsonby by Auckland’s Metro magazine.

travel new zealand food drink customer service coffee business auckland

Scrambled eggs with chirizo sausage and salsa verde was exactly what I needed on the morning I went swimming at Muriwai beach.…

ABC Playback

27 March 2008 | Comments Off

Update 27 July 2008: Playback has gone into live beta renamed as ABC iVew. It looks infinitely better than anything the commercial networks have managed to date.

I’m beta testing the ABC’s new Playback service and it is cool and promising. I love the fact that the ABC are the leader in new media services and technologies in Australia. Now the Rudd government must deliver some much needed funding…

television media internet customer service …

Muriwai beach

24 March 2008 | Comments Off

One of the most beautiful places I went to in New Zealand recently was Muriwai Beach, on the west coast of the north island. The sand is the colour of milk chocolate from volcanic activity. In changable weather I could not resist a quick swim though the strong rip and wind meant I was the lone swimmer in the water, with only a couple of surfers nearby.

travel new zealand beaches …

when in Auckland eat like Russians

20 March 2008 | Comments Off

One evening we got the Link bus to Parnell Rd and wandered up the hill looking for dinner. We stopped at the St Petersberg Russian and Uzbek Restaurant and thought it looked promising. stepped in and asked to read a menu as there was not one on display in the courtyard. After looking at it we decided the menu sounded worth trying and sat down at one of the outdoor courtyard tables, which was not set.…

this film is trivial

19 March 2008 | 2 Comments

I wasted 2 hours of my life last night seeing one of the worst films ever made. Called ‘Trivial’, or in the original French ‘Le Disparue de Deauville’ (the missing person from Deauville), it has one of the most ridiculous plots ever contrived, and includes a new film cliche in every scene. If you value life do not see this film! It was part of the French Film Festival, but the programmer obviously took too many pills before choosing this one.…