Mind the Gap is a multi-staged project using art as a communication tool to achieve social inclusion. This installation features more than 70 artworks from 20 residents living at Sacred Heart Mission (SHM), Queens Road Rooming House.This project is proof that individuals who have experienced homelessness can use their creativity to reconnect with the wider community. The exhibition aims to raise community awareness about the success of people who have been marginalised due to economic factors, mental illness or disability and to demonstrate the positive outcome of creativity as a vehicle for resilience.Queens Road Rooming House opened in December ...
Archives for 2009
1 Pure Scenius – Brian Eno, Karl Hyde and the Necks at the Sydney Opera House Brian Eno was the best gig I saw this year – a fascinating and thrilling performance, with the additional status of being a rare and longheld ambition fulfilled. 2 David Byrne at Hamer hall This was the third time I have seen David Byrne, and perhaps the best, as the show was focused on the music he wrote with Talking Heads that was produced by Eno and on their new collaborative album. 3 Jarvis Cocker at the Forum theatre A joyous, fun, energetic and jaunty gig from Jarvis, Read ...
The entrance to Dorijo, a block of flats in Victoria Parade in East Melbourne, only hints at what a spectacular Art Deco building it is.It was designed by I G Anderson in 1934 the similarities to his, now doomed to demolition, Lonsdale House are most obvious in the tower.A minor design aspect that attracts my eye is the reduction in the size of the three balconies as they progress up the facade. Each succeeding level is slightly smaller that the preceeding one.See my prints and t-shirts at www.redbubble.com/people/dct66 and tees and other giftware at www.zazzle.com/davidt66*.
I don’t really know what I was thinking before my visit to Livebait. Scepticism was up there, along with a definite low expectation. I mean, Livebait does reside in the Docklands – hardly renowned for its culinary heavyweights. But that aside, every restaurant must be judged on its own merits and not on its geography. Livebait is located in the Docklands Newquay area and, as the name suggests, the focus is primarily on fresh seafood. The menu is dressed up under the guise of Japanese fusion which, in reality, means a few vegetables get the tempura treatment, some chicken is ...
New Year’s Eve in the City: City Rooftops Fireworks Spectacular As if the city’s annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display wasn’t spectacular enough already, this year’s display will be accompanied by some of the most power-packed, sparkling stars Melbourne has ever seen. All kinds of dancing going on As our city’s rooftops erupt with their amazing displays of colour and light, the accompanying soundtrack will feature big hits from artists including Kylie, the Black Eyed Peas, Pink and Guy Sebastian. So it won’t just be the fireworks dancing across the city this Thursday night! If you’re watching the show and you’re not at one ...
159 Spring Street, Melbourne Phone 03 9654 6657 One of my absolute favourite spots for a bit of refined CBD lunching would have to be City Wine Shop. It ticks all my boxes; superb service (with a smile), a kickarse wine list (but of course!), an interesting and ever changing menu, and food that will leave you swooning. It also holds one of the best outlooks on Spring Street, especially if you’ve scored a spot in the portico. We decided to tackle two of the specials of the day, Dan going with pan roasted fish and shellfish with baby veg and gazpacho ($21.50). ...
She was a ho, for Sho... that line has no relevance to Sho Noodle bar at Crown nestled nicely between Baccarat, Roulette and poker machines. This nicely designed place with it's big open kitchen is professionally serviced and provides a South Eastern Asian themed menu. The dishes we order are acceptable but very pedestrian, the laksa stock lacking depth and the char kway teow lacking flavour. When the dishes are priced at 50% more than locals (Penang Coffee House, Nonya Hut, Straits Cafe) and they are 50% less tasty - the value just isn't there. My recommendation? Leave earlier and ...
My friend J’s mum is a couturier. So going op-shopping with J is a frustrating experience – she’ll pick up an ugly $10 drop-waisted peach coloured curtain-fabric dress and say airily ‘Oh, I’ll just get mum to alter it”. The next thing you know she’s decked out in a jealousy-inducing one-of-a-kind vintage outfit. I’m not so lucky, so I rely on the friendly and attentive staff at Alterations Now to turn my op-shop purchases into fabulous chic. Their latest assignment – transforming a Ted Baker LBD picked up at the MTC Garage Sale and transforming it into an Audrey Hepburn worthy ...
Looking down the Yarra River, taken on the 30th of October 2009
Have you heard of the ‘sports icon’ Takeru Kobayashi? This Japanese man is one of the great champions of competitive eating (he’s now ranked second according to the International Federation of Competitive Eating, after an unheralded six years at the top). I watched him in action in the documentary Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating and I found it astounding that this small-framed, 73kg man, could eat so much, so quickly. Sometimes I think that Don Don is trying to train up the next contender to win back Kobayashi’s crown. How quickly can you eat? This hole-in-the-wall Japanese ...
I have been to Quanjude once on a team building lunch. I can't particularly remember how good the peking duck was but it was good. Now, mum insisted that we should have lunch again at Quanjude, simply because it's Beijing's most sought after Peking Duck restaurant. If we were in Beijing, we won't be able to book a table to the restaurant. It's that in demand. So, off we went to Quanjude. Once we were seated down, the head waiter asked if we wanted duck. We all nodded in consent, saying we want one Peking Duck for our table. We ...
Today we say hi to my new guest blogger CC, a cool ex-Melburnian who now calls East London home. Skinny jeans aficionado, mosh pit veteran, classical pianist now electric guitarist, CC will be bringing you news of upcoming HOT gigs in Melbourne. Her motto is ‘with great musical wisdom, comes great musical responsibility’ and this girl has cred – I’ve followed in her musical wake at New Young Pony Club, The Cribs, Goldfrapp, Does It Offend You Yeah, Interpol, Turin Brakes, Cajun Dance Party, Broken Social Scene, Kaiser Chiefs, Editors – and Lucky Voice Karaoke in Soho. If you’d like to ...
Kitchen Workshop Ground Floor, Clarendon Street Entrance Crown Casino 8 Whiteman Street Southbank VIC 3006 +61 3 9292 7856 http://www.crowncasino.com.au/kitchen-workshop Adam and I took our families to lunch at Kitchen Workshop, a new buffet restaurant situated in the new dining precinct of Crown just off the Clarendon Street entrance. We were originally planning to organise lunch at The Press Club but mum whinged about it costing too much and how we “shouldn’t waste so much money on food” (cough) while Adam’s parents aren’t keen on eating food that isn’t Chinese (boo). Secondly, everyone LOVES buffet restaurants (excluding Adam and I) and so Kitchen Workshop, recommended by my ...
Having recently exhibited at Craft Victoria as part of Shoe Show and taking part at the recent Craft Hatch market at the State Library of Victoria, Emma Shirgwin has been a Craft Victoria darling of late. Emma is based from her East Brunswick studio (which she shares with fellow Shoe Show exhibitor Phong Chi Lai and COUNTER stockist Sarah Russell of Scottato), and her label 'Emma the Shoemaker' has been in place for nearly three years now - something that is no small feat at all!For today's post, here's a peek into Emma's working space. Why not treat your feet ...
194-204 Faraday Street Carlton VIC 3053 Australia After a long stroll up and down the iconic Yarra River in Melbourne's City Centre, we ventured to the Crown casino to find a shop that served iced chai tea drinks. After almost getting lost (due to some area's being closed off) we came to find that the shop was no longer there :( So a short drive later we found ourselves in Carlton, and Ann brought me to this busy shop cafe that took up almost a hand full of the street's numbers. With heaps of people lining up to ...
Crossley St, Melbourne CBD I dropped in for lunch yesterday on Xmas eve at Von Haus. It was grey and gloomy outside, and I felt the urge for something hearty. The braised lamb shoulder did not disappoint. Full of flavour, melting off the bone, with mushrooms and olives that somehow seemed to have soaked up the red wine in the sauce, while exuding their own flavour as well, this dish was almost
Curry in a hurry is what they are dishing out at Chillipadi's offshoot Chilli India that isn't a stretch cuisine too far. Indian food that won't offend, the butter chicken is entertaining, beef vindaloo stewed down and mild for a chilli weakling like myself.3 / 5 yums!------Where? Shop 6 / Menzies Aly, Melbourne, VICWhat? Under $10
I recently read about Baker D Chirico’s pop up store and very excitedly headed there for a macaron hit. The macarons at Baker D Chirico had been recommended to me, but unfortunately, being the insular Northsider that I am, I rarely make it over to St Kilda. Baker D Chirico’s pop up store is right near my work and absolutely gorgeous to boot: So much deliciousness.. I am told that the bakery is considering opening a permanent city store (either in Crossley St or otherwise) provided enough sales go through during the Christmas period – so get buying people! The store closes on Christmas Eve so ...
I had lunch with a friend in North Melbourne today. North Melbourne being a old part of Melbourne was established well before the deco period but in between the Victorian houses, shops and warehouses and the modern builds and conversions there are a number of nice interwar buildings.I spotted J Pringle Automotive from trusty/rusty bicycle and had to stop to take a picture of two.See my prints and t-shirts at www.redbubble.com/people/dct66 and tees and other giftware at www.zazzle.com/davidt66*.
The recent Jarvis Cocker concert at the Forum theatre was most excellent, and I took lots of photos. The best were included in my review, and worst got deleted. I kept looking at the ones in between and decided they were worthy of sharing. I’m still learning how to best use my newish digital camera, as its behaviour and sensitivity are very different to my previous one. I claim no artistic credit here – these are all camera accidents! I like them because they capture his unexpectedly frenetic performance.
I love Journal Canteen. I love the simple perfectly made Italian food that is served there. What? Am I giving away the ending again? Sorry. (small antipasto platter – $15) Well, I work near Journal Canteen and we go there for lunch quite often, so this post will be about a few trips that we made to Journal Canteen and some the fabulous food they serve there. First things first, Journal Canteen is not Journal (the cafe), which is visible from Flinders Lane. They are in the same building so don’t get confused. To get to Journal Canteen (also known as Rosa’s Kitchen ...
These flats are on Simpson St in East Melbourne. I liked the similar but different look of each section. I asked my friends at the ever helpful Walking Melbourne forum and got the suggestion that the flats represent three different periods, possibly c.1939 for the block on the far right, c. 1945 for the left and c. 1960s in the middle. My favourite is the late 1930s section with the rounded concrete and slit windows.c.1939c. 1945 c. 1960s
In our own personal advent calendar, Lin, Billy and I went on a trip around Melbourne’s CBD in search of the perfect mince pie. “On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me….12 mince pies and 2 macarons in a pear tree.” Joyce: We had optimistically planned 12 tastings in keeping with our self-penned Christmas carol, but our stomachs and sugar-induced headaches felled us after seven (the macaroons and charcoal bun we picked up en route probably didn’t help). Nonetheless, I think we’ve got enough of a variety to settle some age-old mince pie controversies: covered top vs lattice/star ...
Okay folks, here's a belated entry to my recent Amnesty Fortnight. It's the Melbourne Gastronome guide to the best breakfasts/brunches within the confines of the Melbourne CBD. Most of these were visited by yours truly over the last few months, either with the Ladies Who Lunch or with a group of housemate DJ's friends for our now regular (fortnightly) Bourgeois Breakfasts. I've got a dozen places here on my list, but if you can recommend any others please let me know - we're running out of new Bourgeois Breakfast venues!Hardware Societe120 Hardware Street, Melbourne (map)9078 5992Di and Will, the proprietors ...
2009-12-21 00:00:00.0 Find out about social media and the important issues facing public libraries by listening to audio recorded at the State Library's Big Issues symposium. Commentators Nicholas Gruen, Bill Thompson and Mark Pesce discuss the role of social media as a means of direct communication, collaboration and engagement between governments and communities. You can also hear about some of the key challenges facing libraries in the fields of learning and literacy, digital citizenship, social inclusion and community partnerships, and health and ageing. A panel including Tom Bentley, Patricia Faulkner and three national librarians discusses why these issues are important to libraries. Listen ...
