Herbed Chicken Flavoured Crisps!

Our Pretentious Afternoon in Sydney

Went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and saw this exhibit by the artist Erwin Wurm, an Austrian. The "Fat Convertible" drew us in initially, and he also had several "interactive" sculptures we messed around with. Museum was so-so, but free.

Faces coming out of holes (Taronga Zoo)

Pubbing in Sydney

So we met up with the newlyweds at the Lord Nelson Pub in the Rocks district - great times - Keef and Matt ate Pork Pies with chutney & mustard accompanied by a boiled egg, Cynthia and I shared a fish & chips. The beer was nice and hoppy. Matt's mum was with us for a bit as well.

Sydney Street Signs

bills' Eggs and coffee musings

This morning, we went to bills in Darlinghurst for what was purported to be the best darn scrambled eggs in Sydney- a bit overstated, but they were very delicious. Keef had the corn fritters. Figured out there that I liked my coffee "long black" (not a porn)- comparable to a strong Americano Keef ststed. The waitress was beautiful.

Burger Rings

Burger Rings are better than Funyons.

Ewww, Bats

There is a colony of flying foxes in the Royal Botanical Garden in Sydney.

Sydney Opera House is Cool! (even the bathroom)

Guy with the Worst Job in Sydney

"Hear Ye, hear ye, announcing the opening of the new Cafe Bella. It has ye olde sandwiches and salads as well as ye refreshing beverages. (kill me because dumb tourists are taking pictures of me in this ridiculous getup)"

Sydney Harbour Bridge views

After breakfast, we followed the old Fodors Australia 2006 walking tour up the Rocks district to the Sydney Harbour Bridge - the views of the Sydney Opera House were amazing. The forecast was showers all day, and initially it looked like it was going to downpour all day. That is, until Keith peed at the Sydney Observatory and the clouds were peed away.

Aussie Breakfast

Eggs, bacon, hash browns, grilled tomato, coffee long black (awesome).

Wangbrand

Manly Ferry

First night in Sydney

Had a pleasant flight on Qantas from LA - I was lucky to get a whole side row to myself. Watched Dark Water (crap), Valiant (crap), and Wedding Crashers on the individual entertainment system and ate salmon and chicken curry (yum) on board. I arrived in Sydney at 11pm. Immigration was no sweat - the passport guy seemed really nice- he said, "Cheers mate" when we were done.
When I got to the hotel, I roused a sleeping Keith, and we walked up George St., the main drag, where we were checking out the drunk and pretty before we got to a late night place, Pancakes. I had the chocolate pancake with oranges and Grand Marnier - they make them a little drier than in the US, but it was tasty nonetheless. Also, had a side of English style bacon- really yummy and greasy.
We then checked out the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge ( the little things flying are the flying foxes!).

Furby ban on Qantas - outrageous!

Actual airplane card on Qantas - No Furby toys!

Last Post in USA

Cool things in Lisa and Dan's place

Art! (moves like those chinese waterfall paintings)

Vectrex!

LA Thanksgiving

I was in LA for Thanksgiving visiting my friends Lisa and Dan in Hollywood. My friends Matt and Beth came in from Portland as well, and Lisa's mom, Karen, and her brother, Steve were there as well. Ahh, to be able to sit outside in 70 degree weather on Thanksgiving - nice.

Dan was successful in making his very first turkey- an organic free range number brined in Coke with a cooked in the bird cornbread stuffing- outstanding. I helped some to mince the bird's liver and make some gravy from the tasty drippings, Lisa made a delicious blueberry crumble, and her mother brought some amazing homemade rolls and pumpkin pie. Our only vegetable - broccoli casserole.
After dinner, we adjourned to Dan and Lisa's large couch and vegged out/napped while watching War of the Worlds and arguing over Serenity.
Thanks west coast friends!

mp3 test 2

this one is for my cousin and her beau:
Arcade Fire - Maps (cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

testing mp3 posting

Stars- Ageless Beauty (most serene republic remix)

trying new code from del.icio.us that lets me play an mp3- click the arrow.

Bloomin' Onion

My dad read somewhere that onions were good for you like garlic, so he is on a quest to eat more of them. My mom and i found a local place called Silver Spring Mining Co. on York Road with a knockoff Bloomin' Onion called the Blasted Onion. The place, for you west coasters, is like a small scale Claim Jumper with Maryland local items like the Crab Pretzel, Old Bay wings, and pit beef. Yum.

Manifesto

We must meet this threat with our courage, our valor, indeed with our very lives to ensure that human civilization, not insect, dominates this galaxy NOW AND ALWAYS!

Walk the Line

My weekly cheesecake was inspired by Walk the Line which I saw tonight with my parents, who haven't been out to a movie in years. A good biopic is hard to find i say- they fall into the trap of being episodic - see Ray as a perfect example - here is Ray being discovered, here is Ray tricking those bad record execs, here is Ray standing up to racism, here is Ray writing Hit the road jack, etc - a boring formula with no real satisfactory climax.
Anyways, Walk the Line is pretty darn good. Joaquin is amazing - instead of an impersonation like Jamie Foxx did, Joaquin captures the essence of Cash somehow and he sings all the songs. Back to cheesecake, the super hot Shelby Lynne plays JC's ma - there are rumors she is a closeted lesbian, but who really cares. She sure can sing, too.

Saturday Lunch

After working this morning, stopped by the Cross St. Market and went to Nick's seafood. They have the best fried clams - huge! as well as great Baltimore style fries (peanut oil, fresh cut taters, old bay and vinegar). Today, I ate a 1/2 lb. of shrimp steamed with old bay. Here are before and after pics.
Before - all grey and yummy.
After - pink and yummy.

New Harry Potter Sucked

I was hoping that the first 2 films were just bad cause they were directed by the auteur who brought you Bicentennial Man and Home Alone 2. The Prisoner of Azkaban was actually entertaining - particularly the moment when Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Devid Thewlis were facing off. I was thinking that perhaps the source material was no interpreted well in the first films, that the last film showed the true potential of J.K Rowling.
Well, after seeing the Goblet of Fire, I think the whole Harry Potter phenomenon is a fraud. All the hype and hoo-hah were for naught. The latest films is as boring as the first two films, but hey, the effects are nicer. Even Ralph Fiennes with no nose can't resucitate this dead horse. The scene with Harry and Voldemort tries to play out like Luke's first confrontation with Vader in Empire, but it falls so flat. The mystery of Mad-Eye Moody - so anticlimactic and devoid of any intrigue.

Moments that amused me some:
1. the Chinese girl with the Scottish brogue
2. the very uncomfortable scene where the annoying ghost keeps trying to look at Harry Potter's dong - no lie here, she tries to look at his dong
3. Jarvis Cocker singing and Warwick "leprechaun" Davis crowd surfing
4. fake giant hands of the weird french headmistress
5. trying to look for the french girl's cameltoe in her swimsuit
6. the progressive ugliness of Rupert Grint - a no soul ginger
7. the dancing leprechaun fireworks
8. harry swimming underwater with his glasses still on - i do it all the time
The poor generation of kids who don't know shit about what constitutes a genuinely good film - they think these films are classics and these books are literary events. Boo

I Geek Out

Well, I got geek chills when I saw some of this footage at comic-con this year, and I really can't wait for Superman Returns even more now. Marlon Brando, the John Williams theme, and the space shot of Supes then diving towards Metropolis. Woo hoo. Too bad no pic of Glenn Ford from the comic-con footage. Go Bryan Singer! Teaser Link.

La Disparation

Tonight, another show, French singer-songwriter Keren Ann played at the Engineer's Club in Baltimore. Cool venue- some old school club in a mansion in Mount Vernon.
When I arrived the Baltimore Foodies were there for a "networking" party- thinking about joining the club next year -maybe...
The space Keren Ann played in was really cool - a salon with decorative ceilings- she sounded great playing a mix of her English and French songs as well as a cover of "The Tennessee Waltz" and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi."



I swear I had this olfactory sensation of pizza with oregano and garlic during the show. Someone who arrived late tried to get me to move over a seat so she and a friend could sit up close. Personally, I find this rude. I am making it a point to refuse to move over in concerts and movies to accomodate late arrivals. When I've got my sweet spot in the place, sorry, not budging. I hate it especially when they try to make me feel like the ass in this situation.

I like Baltimore cause in the next block over at the Peabody Conservatory, another concert was going on - such a marked difference in cultural activities versus Vegas. The Washington Monument looked really amazing tonight with the clear cold night sky. Ahhh... bundling up.

Tomorrow. . .the MVA.

Losing My Edge

I saw LCD Soundsystem at the Sonar Club tonight - they rocked out. My favorites were "Losing My Edge" and "Yeah"- songs from their 12"'s. The opener the Juan Maclean were as disappointing as their debut record - and their 12"'s were so promising.

James Murphy is my hero by the way - a rockstar that is chubby! F those skinny tight pants emo boys. Murphy was a master of the dual cowbell! Plus the emotionless asian keyboardist girl was awesome.

They had some DJ name Sh*t Robot "warm up" the crowd - it was utterly boring except for pretentious dance students taking digital pictures of themselves in the spotlights. Striking poses. . . LAME!

Like a jackass, I bought a Mega Millions ticket for the big drawing tonight. LOST!