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Showing posts from 2006

Damn you Captain Jack!

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John Barrowman, who plays the roguish bisexual leader of the Torchwood Institute in Dr Who spin-off Torchwood , on BBC 3, has tied the knot with his partner Scott Gill in a civil union service in Cardiff. Any hopes I had of Barrowman sweeping me off my feet are now utterly dashed. Excuse me for a moment while I throw myself onto my chaise lounge and sob uncontrollably, will you? On the other hand, at least I can console myself with the fact that an eyepatch-wearing friend with the habit of saying 'Arrrrr' a lot has a copy of the Dr Who Christmas Special for me to watch this weekend...

A set-up!

At the opening night of Entertaining Mr Sloane last night, a friend Stella said that she knew a bloke who she wanted to set me up on a date with, but added that he was afraid that I'd blog about him afterwards. I think he reads this. Well yes, I admit that is entirely possible, but I am the essence of discretion, sir, I assure you. Should I decide to blog about you at all, you'd become an initial, nothing more. Stella, get matchmaking, please!

That was the year that was: ELSEWHERE

Sedition was the buzzword in the arts sector in the first half of 2006, and political themes kept cropping up across artforms, although as previously noted, they were not always successful. Something that was a success was the Festival Melbourne 2006 , the free arts festival run in conjunction with the Commonweath Games . Expect to see more cash thrown at sporting events in the years to come... Meanwhile, ‘Queen’ Mary Delahunty retired as Arts Minister, and also as the member for Northcote after seven years in state Parliament, prior to Victoria ’s November 25 election. Delahunty’s replacement, former Education Minister Lynne Kosky , was markedly silent for the couple of weeks it took to appoint her new Media Advisor after the election, but came out with guns blazing as soon as that appointment was finalised. “ Arts push the boundaries,” she told The Age in a recent interview . “It's good to have controversy.” Kosky’s comments were made during an interview conducted by s...

That was the year that was: VISUAL ARTS

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There’s been no end of drama in Melbourne ’s visual arts community this year. Leading the way was the high profile imbroglio between influential curator Juliana Enberg , and young artist Ash Keating . Their very public dispute at an opening at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in June, centered around Keating’s appropriation of artwork by Barbara Kruger , herself the focus of a popular ACCA exhibition this year (pictured at left) which he had recycled from a dumpster behind ACCA. A compatriot of Keating’s videoed the slanging match between the artist and the curator (a potential invasion of privacy as far as Enberg was concerned) and the resulting tape became the art world equivalent of John Safran ’s famous interrogation of Ray Martin (originally shot for the pilot of a subsequently axed TV series in 1998, but never shown – at least on the national broadcaster – until screened by Media Watch in 1999). As far as I know, the video Keating’s mate shot of Enberg ...

Review: Entertaining Mr Sloane (MTC)

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There are very few writers whose names become synonymous with the style they championed. The American horror writer H. P Lovecraft is one. Another is the English playwright and social satirist Joe Orton . Even before his death, at the hands of his hammer-wielding lover, Kenneth Haliwell, in August 1967, Orton’s fame was assured thanks to his savagely humourous attack upon the morals of the day. Through a series of plays, including Entertaining Mr Sloane (1964) Loot (1966) and What the Butler Saw (produced postumously in 1969) Orton mocked the pretentions of British society and the restrictive views of the day concerning sexuality. Today, the phrase ‘Ortonesque’ is used in literary and theatrical circles to describe work that is outrageously or hilariously macabre. The Melbourne Theatre Company launched their 2007 season tonight with a new production of Joe Orton ’s first, full length play, Entertaining Mr Sloane . The MTC describe it as "Orton's classic dark comedy ab...

That was the year that was: THEATRE

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The recent criticisms surrounding this year’s short play festival, Short & Sweet at the Arts Centre, which reverberated throughout the Blogsphere, was one of the major stories in Melbourne ’s performing arts sector this year. Rather than rehash recent columns, I refer you to Alison Croggon’s informative and insightful blog Theatre Notes for the full story. Also at the Arts Centre, the success of the FULL TILT program proved that the real creativity in Melbourne ’s theatre scene is definitely happening on the fringes. That said, the Melbourne Theatre Company proved that their middle-of-the-road reputation was not necessarily deserved , thanks to their staging of Festen , an unsettling play by David Eldridge adapted from the Dogme film of the same name. Elsewhere, the Store Room Theatre re-opened after being dark for too long, re-branding itself as the Store Room Theatre Workshop , and also installed air conditioning, thank the Muses; while the legendary La Mama Theatre ,...

Review: Happy Feet

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Being that I'm on leave this week, I've been spending the last two days catching up on films, with more to see in the next few days before I head back to work next week. First off the rank was George Miller's animated epic about dancing penguins, Happy Feet . This is the story of Mumble (adequately but blandly voiced by Elijah 'Frodo' Wood), the alienated young Emperor penguin who is cast out by his tribe because he expresses himself through tapdancing instead of singing. Consequently our young hero embarks on the sort of standard hero's quest that we've come to expect in fantasy films, in search of the alien outsiders whom Mumble's believes is responsible for the fish shortage that is slowly starving his tribe . Along the way Mumble falls in with an endearing troupe of Adelie penguins, led by the irrepresible Ramon (Robin Williams) and faces off against a truly menacing leopard seal, a small pod of killer whales, extremely Ocker elephant seals, and even...

That was the year that was: CINEMA

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In a year that saw James Hewison step down as director of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), moving on to helm the Australian Film Institute , there were plenty of surprises in store for the film-going public in 2006. Sadly, Hewison’s unveiling of the opening night film at MIFF this year, the identity of which had been kept under wraps in order to generate interest and boost ticket sales, was no longer surprising by the time the screening started. So many pundits had tipped that we’d be seeing the high school drama 2:37 , directed by 21 year old South Australian Murali Thalluri , that any sense of mystery had long been lost by the time the film was introduced. What was surprising was how derivative the film was of Gus Van Sant ’s accomplished Elephant . Another surprise was the controversy which developed in the weeks after the film’s Australian premiere, centered on suggestions that Thalluri had invented the ‘friend’ whose suicide allegedly inspired his director...

The new blogger

Seems to be spectacularly unsuccessful so far. I just tried transfering my blog, and it didn't work. Guess I'll just keep posting here for the time being, and see what happens in the coming days...

All quiet on the blogging front

After a remarkably pleasent Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day, there's really very little to report that's blogworthy. Christmas Eve saw me hanging out with old friends Hugh and Chiara, who I met within my first year of moving to Melbourne in 1986 . Although we only catch up a few times each year now, we slipped straight back into easy banter and rapport over lunch in the Westgarth cafe strip, around the corner from their home. That night I rang my girlfriend Cerise to wish her the compliments of the season, only to be invited on the spur of the moment over for a roast dinner with her and her housemate Melody, and a couple of their friends. Much wine, champagne and absinthe was also consumed, making for a delightful evening. Christmas Day saw me open a bottle of bubbly at breakfast, a bottle of red at lunch, eating prawns with lime juice and chili, grapes, a fruit platter, icecream and shortbread, and watching the first three episodes of the US TV series Rescue Me , which...

Debauched and Degenerate

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The liver is evil, and must be punished, so the saying goes. I certainly gave mine a good workout last night. With my friends from Glasgow, Bec and Bob in town (and temporary residents of my loungeroom) last night saw us head out to dinner at an Indian restaurant with a few other folks, including our mutal friends Craig and Sarah, both of whom Bec and I met through the youth arts organisation Express Media , where we were co-CEOs for a couple of years. The service at Guru Da Dhaba was chaotic, but the food was divine, and I highly recommend it if you haven't eaten there before. Six or seven bottles of wine were consumed between eight people, which was an excellent start to the evening. Then it was on to Abbotsford, for a house-party thrown by my lovely friend Lisa. One of the many highlights of the party was drinks around the kitchen table and intense discussion about how apparently picky I am as far as potential boyfriends are concerned, as a light rain fell outside and more alc...

That was the day that was

Spent the morning doing the laundry because Mum was coming down from the country to stay the night (and then the next two nights my friends Bec and Bob from Glasgow will be staying over) and I wanted to make sure I had clean sheets for the sofa-bed, and clean towels for the morning, for all. Then this afternoon I had a long overdue lunch with the one-of-a-kind Ms Fits , worked on next week's 'Art of the City' column for Beat magazine, and did more housework. Tonight I took Mum out to an opening at ACCA - British artist Mike Nelson's Lonely Planet , which is an evocative, melancholy and superb installation - then to see the new Barry Humphries show, Back with a Vengeance at the Art Centre. Not until we arrived at the theatre did I casually mention to Mum that we were having drinks with Barry after the show. You should have seen her face when I told her - this is, after all, the woman who introduced me to Barry Humphries (as well as The Goon Show , Monty Python and Th...

Hello and welcome to...

...the last 100 visitors to my blog! You've come from all over the world, including: Istanbul, Turkey Fairbanks, Alaska Somewhere in Morocco Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia The Leap, Queensland Madison, Wisconsin Riga, Latvia Bayan, Kuwait Lakemba, New South Wales Leatherhead, the UK So why have you come to my blog, that's what I want to know? WHY? Over to you, dear readers...

Roll on 2007

I just had a meeting with the General Manager of Evolution Publishing, in whose publishing stable MCV is a part. I've officially been offered the job of MCV Editor, four days a week (which is perfect for me) starting from early February. Whoo-hooo!

I hate Christmas

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Bah, humbug. It's a stupid season. People shopping themselves stupid, maxing out their credit cards, fighting with relatives, drinking themselves into oblivion, praying to a non-existent god, and generally behaving like cunts. Stay safe and sane, people, especially if you're spending the day with relatives!

Updates

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It's been a busy week, post Meredith, and as you'll have noticed I haven't been posting a lot. There's been the usual things going on - work, writing, Board obligations, that sort of thing, but it's all a bit dull and I'm sure you don't want to hear about it. Some of the more interesting activities I've got up to this week have included: Telling the Managing Director at Evolution Publishing that I'd be interested in throwing my hat into the ring when Troy Gurr, the editor at MCV , steps down in February. It would mean a few changes in my life, taking over as the editor of the paper instead of just working there two days a week, but I think I'm ready for that. Attending the launch of the Midsumma Festival on Wednesday night, and the final week of the Short & Sweet short play festival immediately afterwards at the Arts Centre. This Sunday night is the Gala final performance and awards presentation - I'll be presenting the Media Judges...

*yawns*

It's been rather a busy week. I'll update soon, I promise.

More on Meredith

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Arriving home yesterday afternoon from the Meredith Music Festival , I went straight to the shower and washed off two and a half days worth of dust and dirt, then went to bed for four hours. I felt so much better when I woke up. I'd had about three hours sleep on Thursday night before leaving for the festival, as a result of having far too much fun seeing fantastic Scottish group My Latest Novel at the Corner. On Friday night I drank heavily and partied hard, and consequently didn't get more than three or four hours sleep - I woke up at 7am because of the sunlight streaming into my tent and couldn't get back to sleep. Then on Saturday night I had virtually no sleep at all, due to a combination of heat, noise and too much speed... Consequently I was exhaused by the time we left the festival around 11am Sunday. I was also on edge due to the homophobic mutterings Glen and I had overheard that morning from the group of straight country boys who were camped next to us. They...

Too darn hot

Things that were good about Meredith this year: Great company Shirtless boys Midlake The Presets Massages Staff passes that let you bypass the queue of cars at the gate Things that were bad about Meredith this year: Heat Dust Bushfire smoke Heat stroke Homophobes Rose Tattoo Sleep deprivation

On SmartArts today...

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...my guests were: John Bailey filled us in on the latest news and gossip in the arts scene, in Shoot the Messenger , including word on the latest war of words in the theatre-blog scene over Short and Sweet . You can learn more about the original drama at the cached version of her blog here , and fill yourself in on the ruckus about her comments over at Alison Croggon's Theatre Notes . Amy Dobson came in to talk about new theatre piece The Maya Project , based on a Hindu text that posits the world and all who live in it is but illusion ... On at McCulloch Gallery, 8 Rankins Lane Melb. (off Lt Bourke St, between Elizabeth and Queen Sts.) until Dec 10 - Bookings: Ph FireEngine Blue on 03-9347-5530 Novice documentarian Benj Binks joined us to chat about the new movie he's making, Mongolian Bling , all about Mongolia's burgeoning hip-hop scene. It's the end on an era for the graduate students from Box Hill Institute who've been studying their Diploma of Visual...

I need a holiday

It's been a stressful couple of weeks, what with some Fringe drama , three days full of interviews at the National Gallery of Victoria for the next round of Young Ambassadors , and the usual chaos of my existence. Last night I dragged Mike along to see the opening night of Robert Reid's play about dissociative disorders, A Mile in Her Shadow - great performances and lighting, not to sold on the script and direction - at the newly re-branded Store Room Theatre Workshop. Go check out his blog for a far more detailed and lucid review of the play... I just got home half an hour ago, giving me long enough to check emails and return a couple of calls and quickly update my blog; after which I'm going to grab a shower before heading back into town to catch week two of the Short & Sweet play festival. I'm feeling pretty knackered, and I definitely need a holiday - all I can say is, thank the gods the Meredith Music Festival is on this weekend. Two and half days of countr...

This is how I plan to spend New Years Eve...

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This is Limp Wrist , a queer hardcore band from the USA. They're playing the Arthouse on NYE, and I am so going to be there!

Short and Sweet

Ten, 10-minute plays a night for three, one-week seasons at the Arts Centre. Last night, everything from comedy to mature drama, and dysfunctional relationships to cyber-sex and traffic accidents. What's not to like?

This week on SmartArts...

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...my guests were: John Gregory spoke about his new book, Carnival in Suburbia - The Art of Howard Arkley ( Cambridge University Press ) which has been released alongside the enlightening Howard Arkley retrospective now showing that the NGVA at Federation Square until February 25. Ben Harkin , Artistic Director of the rebranded Store Room Theatre Workshop , came in to speak about the changes there, and about playwright Robert Reid's A Mile in Her Shadow , opening tonight and running until Sunday December 10. DiVino is the end of year extravaganza from the National Institute of Circus Arts , on now until December 9. I spoke with Whittney and Juan , two of the students appearing in the show. Killing Jeremy is a new play on at the Carlton Courthouse, now playing until December 16. It was written by Bridgette Burton and directed by Wayne Pearn , who were my guests on the show today. Photographer Andrew Kelly has fused fashion and documentary photography to create Sikh Chic ,...

Happy birthday Q + A

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The club I run every Thursday, Q + A, has its 11th birthday this week. Feel free to come for a visit, a drink and a boogie!

Emo boys kissing

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I found this at work while looking for an image of emo boys pashing for an article. No, really, I did!

MELBOURNE BIG DAY OUT STORE TICKETS SOLD OUT!

This just in from the BDO publicists: " Store tickets for the MELBOURNE BIG DAY OUT have SOLD OUT in record time! This is unprecedented! Final tickets for the MELBOURNE BIG DAY OUT are only available through Ticketmaster ph 136 100 and www.bigdayout.com Be quick or you will miss out! Do believe the hype!

I love anonymous bitching

I just received this delightful, anonymous piece of vitriol in my inbox. Re: Your Bloggy Thing From: Anonymous Sender [anonymous@remailer.metacolo.com] Your Interests: Should have read: Just a past it, burned-out, tedious old queen who can't write for shit. Don't you love the way anonymity allows cowards to say whatever they like? I wonder if it's from someone I know? Assuming I do, it's clearly also from someone whose opinion I don't give a fuck about. LOL!

Loving the linkage

I've taken a couple of minutes to update my blog links, folks, so without further ado, please welcome: Blather Blog Sublime-ation Keep It Foolish A Wild Young Under-Whimsy Fluffy as a Cat Broken Left Leg And in the Gay Blogs section: The Pink Pen Stephen from Melbourne My Life in the Slow Lane Evol Kween Best Gay Blogs If I Bite You Hard Enough Click, read, enjoy!

Bond. James Bond.

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For the first time in, well, ever, I'm actually looking forward to the new James Bond film, Casino Royale . The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw has described the film as 'ridiculously enjoyable', and says that Daniel Craig is "a fantastic Bond, and all those whingers and nay-sayers out there in the blogosphere should hang their heads in shame... He's easily the best Bond since Sean Connery, and perhaps even - well, let's not get carried away. " By all accounts it's a grittier, grimmer take on the Bond franchise than has ever been seen before. That, coupled with the fact that Craig is bloody sexy (watch Love is the Devil if you don't believe me, in which he plays the rough trade lover of artist Francis Bacon) means that I'm actually enthused about seeing the film, which opens next Thursday. Me, I'm going to see it next Monday night at a media preview. I have a plus one for that screening. I wonder who I'll take...? By the way, if you...

Give us the old...

Razzle Dazzle is a new Australian film opening next year, which I was lucky enough to catch last Wedbesday night at the Palace Films Christmas party (do some companies like to get in early, or what?) at the Westgarth Cinema. It’s a rare experience to walk into a cinema knowing absolutely nothing about the film you’re going to see. Razzle Dazzle , directed by Darren Ashton ( Thunderstruck ) is a mockumentary that bills itself as ‘a journey into dance.” It’s a bright, breezy comedy about the world of competitive dance eisteddfods, a sort of Strictly Ballroom about the under 18 set. The focus is firmly on the adults, including a single-minded stage mum played by Kerry Armstrong, and the rival directors of two dance academies, the well meaning but foolish Mr Jonathon (played by English actor Ben Miller) and the snide Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall). While the humour never gets as black or as savage as I felt it needed to be to really make this film work, its gentle humour and PG rating sho...

Partying like its 1976

Last night was 3RRR's 30th birthday party, held in the appropriately baroque surroundings of The Forum, and what a splendid affair it was. With the theme of 'Party like it's 1976', almost all the crowd made the effort to dress accordingly. There were some truly disturbing suits on display, some wonderfully garish frocks, an entire gang of Sharpies, several tennis players, footballers, superheroes, and sundry other 70's personalities. Myself, I donned a rather charming kaftan and a fetching wig, and proceeded to have an excellent time. So excellent in fact that the sun had well and truly risen by the time I got home... This afternoon has been spent curled up on the couch with a good book, James Ellroy's The Big Nowhere , and a quick visit to the local polling booth where I voted Green, having given up on Labor several years ago after their disgraceful response to the Tampa affair. Tonight's going to be a quiet one - just me, a bottle of red, and the ABC's...

Pagan Greens threaten future of Victoria!

Shock, horror! MEDIA RELEASE Wednesday, 22nd November 2006 Pagan Green Party Threatens Future Of Victoria The Rev Fred Nile, Leader of the Christian Democratic Party, has issued a warning to the voters of Victoria concerning the pagan Green Party. "The voters of Victoria only have to study the anti-Christian agenda of the pagan Green Party to know what will happen to Victoria if the Greens win the 'balance of power', the 'balance of blackmail' in the Victorian Upper House. In the NSW Upper House the pagan Green Party has strongly opposed the daily Opening Prayers of the NSW Parliament and have twice unsuccessfully moved Motions to have them removed (2001 and 2003) but were defeated both times, by 30 votes to 7 votes in 2003. The Greens strongly supported the Religious Vilification Bill that had draconian gaol sentences and have persecuted the two Victorian Christian Pastors, Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah. The Greens have introduced a number of anti Chri...

Bwah-hah-hah-hah-haaaaaa!

Two parents decide to play a prank on their young son and his friend who have been watching horror movies. The result? Fucking hil ar ious! (Thanks to Evol Kween , who I stole this from.)

RIP Robert Altman

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One of the great auteurs of modern American cinema is dead. The caustic and irreverent director of movies including M-A-S-H , Nashville and The Player died on Monday night US time, at the age of 81. There's a beautiful salute to him here , at Salon.com, which I urge you all to read.

He's not bloody dead you know!

So Ian Thorpe has retired. So what? Does that really justify the outpouring of grief, the wailing and moaning in the media? Anybody had think he'd bloody died or something!

The ALP is telling porkies

Any suggestion that the Greens are preferencing the Liberals or Nationals anywhere in this weekend's Victorian election is entirely false. Despite anything that might be in the media, or in any garbled reports you may receive, the Greens are NOT recommending preferences to the Liberals (or Nationals) in any seats. We ARE recommending a preference to the ALP in the vast majority of the marginals that matter, and in most other seats. In some seats, we will leave it to the voters' choice, by providing a split or open ticket that allows them to Vote Green and then preference whichever major party they choose. In the Upper House we have already determined to provide all preferences to like-minded parties first, then Labor, then the Conservatives, then the candidates with the most extremely opposed position to The Greens. By contrast, the ALP has preferenced the so-called Country Alliance ahead of the Greens. This Party is essentially a Shooters-and-Loggers Party. Please visit our we...

"I don't belong here"

Maybe it's because my so-called best friend (yes, I mean mean you , Andrew Plozza, formerly of Trafalgar East) threw a bucket of cowshit over me in front of a group of friends in 1983, when I was 15, to distance himself from Trafalgar High School's token poofter; but I've always been a trifle insecure... At the launch of the unauthorised biography of 3RRR tonight, I was constantly mentally pinching myself, reminding myself that I'm actually a part of such an amazing, integral part of Melbourne. I felt shy, awkward and out of place, so I did what I normally do in such circumstances: I got drunk, and I overcompensated for my nervousness. To quote Radiohead: "But I'm a creep I'm a weirdo What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here I don't belong here ." The fact that apprently I actually do have a place at 3RRR makes me realise how incredibly fucking special the station is, in that it has a place for neurotic bastards like me. If you'r...

Review: Tomfoolery @ the Playhouse

Last Wednesday saw the opening night of the Melbourne Theatre Company ’s final show for 2006, Tomfoolery . A musical review based upon the deliciously satirical works of American Tom Lehrer , the show strings together everything from standards such as ‘ Poisoning the Pigeons in the Parks ’ and ‘ The Masochism Tango ’ to songs the mathematician-turned-musician wrote for children’s educational television in the 1980’s. A framework of witty quotes based around Lehrer’s ability to send up seemingly every musical form in existence holds the show together. The cast of Rhonda Burchmore, Mitchell Butel, Gerry Connolly, Bert Labonte, Melissa Madden-Gray gave uneven performances, as well as the unfortunate impression that they weren’t quite ready to open. Words were forgotten, and cues missed. The lighting technician was also off his mark several times throughout the evening. All of this can be put down to opening night nerves, and is definitely not damning. It didn’t seem to faze the audien...

"Do you eat meat?"

I've just had a very peculiar conversation at my local milk bar, which I'd gone to in order to drop off some dry cleaning (two dress shirts - one white with a wing collar, the other a black Gothic number - and a suit coat in case you were curious). As the tired-looking Vietnamese woman behind the counter was serving me, a younger woman was serving a bearded bloke in his mid 40's at the counter opposite. He had the gaunt, ruddy look of an alchoholic, and as she rang up his single purchase, he began talking, although not actually conducting a conversation with anyone save himself. Two plump children, sapped of energy by the heat, lay prone on the floor behind the counter. When the younger woman spoke to one of the kids in her own tonugue, her scruffy, bearded customer snarled, "Speak English!" Without thinking of the possible consequences , I snapped, "Why should she?" across the counter at him. He glared at me. I glared back. The two women behind the coun...

God help me

They caught me at an impressionable moment, the bastards. After three hours of radio, a voiceover production session for the National Gallery of Victoria, and a steak for lunch, I was waylaid and coerced into agreeing to appearing on TV - Channel 31 - at 8.15 in the goddamn morning tomorrow, after a late night of DJ'ing, to spruik 3RRR's 30th birthday shenannigans. God help me!

Interview: Dame Edna Everage

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FAR FROM EVERAGE RICHARD WATTS shares a salacious word with the housewife superstar, Dame Edna Everage. ON DECEMBER 19 1955, a humble suburban housewife from Moonee Ponds made her first appearance on a Melbourne stage. Then known as Mrs Norm Everage, today she is one of Melbourne ’s most famous residents. Her trademark spectacles, her purple bouffant hair and spectacular yet tasteful costumes are recognised and celebrated around the globe. “I’m basically still a Melbourne housewife,” Dame Edna Everage trills. “I am. And I’m a realist. Women are . I think it’s because we bring children to the world. Or, in the case of Madonna, we import them.” This year she returns to Melbourne to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. “I couldn’t imagine life without stage shows,” Edna confesses. “People may think of me as a television person, or just as a legendary figure in Australian history, but I’m so much more than that.” Next month she appears in a new stage show at The Arts Centre, while s...

THE EYES HAVE IT

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If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit the magnificent Eyes, Lies and Illusions exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) then you’re missing out on one of the best screen culture events of the year. I swung by Federation Square on Sunday afternoon, assuming that I’d be able to skim through the exhibition in half an hour before getting to another show at the National Gallery of Victoria. Instead, I spent an engrossing two hours in slack-jawed, wide-eyed wonder. Eyes, Lies and Illusions presents the pre-cinematic entertainments of the past, from the Renaissance to the Victorian era, in a seven-part exhibition drawn from the collection of German experimental film-faker, professor and curator Werner Nekes , via London ’s Hayward Gallery . Exploring the history of optical trickery, and a world of wonder that pre-dates the modern moving image, this collection of magic lanterns and magic mirrors, camera obscura and praxinoscopes is truly a marvellous sho...

Young lesbian faces death

A YOUNG LESBIAN who fled Uganda in 2004 after her father threatened to kill her faced deportation from the UK on Monday night. Faridah Kenyini was only 17 when she arrived in Britain . She settled in Newcastle , where she met her partner, security guard Sarah Garanette, 25. At an earlier asylum hearing, the judge implied that she was lying about being a lesbian and the danger she faced. Consequently, her plea for asylum was refused. An attempt to deport her last week failed because of an administrative error Garenette, Kenyini’s partner, has voluntarily offered to travel to Uganda with her following the registration of their civil partnership. Uganda ’s record of persecuting homosexuals is well documented. The country's president, Yoweri Museveni, once proposed the arrest of all homosexuals. He has also called for a return to days when “these few individuals were either ignored or speared by their parents.” Kenyini dreads returning to Uganda . “I am afraid that my r...