Quick Update

It's been quite a hectic week, now I think about it...

Monday: worked at 3RRR on a grant application. Fringe Board meeting postponed so had a rare, quiet night at home and was in bed by 10pm.

Tuesday: media preview of X Men III: The Final Stand in the morning (significantly less character development that the first two films, much less satisfying dramatically, several scenes where events clearly only happened so that they could be resolved in as flashy a manner as possible). Worked at MCV in the afternoon. Tuesday night dropped into Martin Tighe's Ronald Ryan exhibition at Hogan Gallery on Smith Street; I'd hoped to interview him on my show this week, but the Breakfasters beat me to it, curse them! ;-) It's a good exhibition - mixed media, a distinct sense of humanity and pathos, and Tighe's trademarked three-dimentional canvases.

Wednesday: At MCV again, today working on a cover story about Geelong cops apparently confessing to entrapping men at local beats. Thereafter I was supposed to go to A) the media preview of the film Separate Lies, B) the 50th anniversary production of the play Look Back In Anger at the Terminus Hotel, C) an Express Media Management Committee meeting, and D) the opening of Jon Cattapan's mid-career retrospective exhibition at the Ian Potter Museum of Contemporary Art. I got to C & D, but only by virtue of skipping out on the ManComm meeting early. Cattapan's exhibtion was too crowded, so I have to try and get back to check it out before he's a guest on my show on Thursday.

Thursday: Another Smartarts on 3RRR. Napped in the afternoon. Thursday night dropped in at the Centre for Contemporary Photography to check out Simon Obarzanek's 80/137 Faces, a series of B & W portraits of adolescents caught in that awkward, beautiful moment between childhood and adulthood. Lovely work, and he'll also be on the show this week. Then it was off to Q + A, for co-dj Helen's last night for six weeks while she heads off for a holiday in Greece. Have fun, babe!

Friday: Went out to RRR to record a to-camera interview with Jacqui Stewart from the GLBT community radio station JOY Melbourne, who's making a doco about the Sex Pistols and their impact on people. She also interviewed Tony Biggs, who I'm sure had much more to say on the subject than me - I was too young to be aware of the band when they first exploded on the UK music scene! Friday night I caught up with a dear friend and occasional collaborator and performance partner Lisa Greenaway (editor of the arts website The Program) and we had our abortive evening at Bell Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which I wrote about in an earlier post.

Thereafter I went to a housewarming party thrown by Damien Hodgkinson, the General Manager of Melbourne Fringe. He used to work at Bell Shakespeare, and rather awkwardly, Bell's publicist and several staff members of the company, including John Bell's personal assistant turned up at the party about an hour after I arrived. They naturally went "You walked out!" and I had to explain my reasons for doing so... which basically came down to "John needs to become a figurehead and hand over all directiorial duties to other people so that the company can stop feeling so tired and predictable." Given that this country lacks a strong critical culture, I'm glad I didn't back out and make excuses for walking out - it was a crap show, and they should know my reasons for thinking so! Dropped in at a very-busy Control HQ for a couple of drinks on the way home.

Saturday: Quiet day. Hungover. Saturday night I went on another date - my third - with a 20-something student named JM (I'm gonna try and maintain some anonymity for him as this blog is about me and my life, not his). It was our third date, and I think this proto-relationship might be going somewhere, though we're taking it slowly (partially because I don't want to break his heart by rushing into things, partially cos I don't want to break mine, given the trauma of my last relationship's spectacularly messy end).

For our date, we went out to see Kage Physical Theatre's superb, deeply moving production Headlock at the Malthouse Theatre, and afterwards out to the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne to see a band that one of his housemate is in, The K Road Queens (named after a street in NZ where the hookers hang out, apparently). Stoner rock, good dynamics, trio - guitar, guitar and drums, no bass, and good fun - all expat Kiwis. Then, instead of going to The Living End's after-party, we came back to mine, had a cup of tea and a chat, and then had a gentle pash before JM went home. Yes, I'll write about him more when I work out what the hell is going on!

Sunday: I had a terrible night's sleep last night - lots to think about, including Fringe business, JM, and a job interview I have tomorrow morning for the position of Artistic Director at Next Wave Festival. Right now I should be working on the 10-minute oral presentation I have to give at the interview about my artistic goals and visions for the festival - instead I'm procrastinating wildly - I've read blogs, answered e-mails, and been to the Union Hotel down the road for a lazy Sunday lunch and a couple of drinks. Now, I have no excuses left - although maybe a nap is in order - and then tonight is Ms. Sam's Eurovision party at the Spanish Club...

Monday Edit: The interview is actually on Tuesday morning, not today, which of course I only realised after I'd got up at 6.30am to go over my notes, showered, shaved and put on my rarely-worn suit. Luckily I double-checked the details in my diary before I headed out the door!