MAN ABOUT TOWN

I just deleted a post I made a few minutes ago, because it involves something bad that's happened to a very dear friend, but as it's extremely personal, and is much more about him than it is me, I've removed it. Suffice to say that a mate of mine has ended up in hospital and has undergone surgery after something very bad happened to him... Mate, I love you, I hope you're gonna be ok, and for gods sake please come home soon, ok?

"In Russia, when we talk about 'liberal' attitudes towards gays, it means they don't want us imprisoned or hanged." - Slava Bortnik, Russian gay activist. This comments were made by a delegate at the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Montreal last week, prior to the opening of the World Outgames on Friday. One of the results of the conference was The Declaration of Montreal , a new declaration for human and civil rights devised by delegates that will be presented to the UN. Slowly, despite setbacks, the world is changing for the better.

Jack Kerouac's literary classic On The Road is to be republished in its original, unedited form. There's a full story about it here, in The Age . Apart from the fact that Jack is one of my literary heroes, this news excites me because of the elements in the original novel that were censored by the publisher when it was first published. The sexual relationship between the thinly-disguised versions of Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady who appear in the book, for example, was largely edited out. Viking publisher Paul Slovak says that the upcoming version will be in hardcover, and will feature the real names of the characters, "rougher language", and a more "sexually frantic tone." Should be good! Oh, and if you want to brush up on your knowledge of Kerouac and the Beat Generation, this site over here is a good place to start.

Big Brother 2006 , I forgive you for everything. For the most banal and boring mix of housemates yet. For completely mishandling the turkeyslap incident, which could have been used to send a powerful message about misogyny out to teenage audiences, but which was completely mishandled. For dull, repetitive telvision. Why? For reuniting David and his boyfriend Sherif. Throughout the whole series we've regularly seen David gazing yearningly at the photo of the bloke he'd met three weeks before he went into the house. He's spent the last three months hoping that the guy would be waiting for him when he came out. I can't imagine what that must have felt like. Tonight, when David was evicted, I was gutted. I so wanted him to win. I actually voted to save him forfuckssake. In short, I was pissed off. And then, Big Brother, you made up for it all by reuniting David and Sherif. You showed them running towards each other from opposite ends of the catwalk and meeting in the middle...

One of the communal aspects of the blogsphere that I anticipate with mingled joy and dread are the memes * that sweep though our hives** at regular intervals. The latest meme that I've received originates from the lovely Fluffy - at least as far as I can tell. Here follow Four Things About Me which regular readers (to say nothing of regular lurkers) may not know. Or maybe you do. Assuming you've done your research. A) Four jobs I have had in my life 1. Chestnut harvester 2. Printer's assistant 3. Mail room flunkey 4. Medical receptionist B) Four movies I would watch over and over: 1. Casablanca 2. The Lord of the Rings (all three parts) 3. The Call of Cthulhu 4. The Celluloid Closet C) Four places I have lived: 1. Big Hill, where I spent the first few years of my life (VIC) 2. Poowong East, where my shoulder was accidentally dislocated twice as a child (VIC) 3. Tanjil South, where my teacher had a stuffed barn owl on his/her desk (VIC) 4. Newborough East, whe...

Princess (Dir. Anders Morgenthaler, Denmark, 2006) MIFF says: "Anders Morgenthaler’s debut animated feature came careening into audiences on the opening night of Director’s Fortnight at Cannes just months ago... Adopting a distinctive animation style heavily influenced by harder edged Japanese anime, Princess also features moments of grainy live action for flashbacks and video footage. Acerbic and deeply troubling, this is a caustic, blood-spattered attack on the porn industry." I say: Although neither as caustic, violent or dark as I'd expected, Princess is definitely a fascinating film to watch. Its blend of animation and live action and its morally flawed hero (who thinks nothing of exposing his 5 year old niece, who he is trying to save from the world of porn and its seedy influences, to brutal violence in order to do so), ensure that it's great to watch for multiple reasons. Defintely one to talk about with your friends afterwards as well. Just don't take ...

Lost and Found MIFF said: "Six of Central and Eastern Europe’s brightest young directors come together in this omnibus feature, each giving their idiosyncratic take on the theme of ‘generation’." I say: Like any anthology, not every segment in this film will work for you. The framing animation that holds the elements together was charming, but unnecessary - title cards would have worked just as well, and would have reduced the running time, too. Highlights included The Ritual (dir. Nadejda Koseva, Bulgaria) a wedding story with a twist; the utterly charming Turkey Girl (Cristian Mungiu, Romania), which made me want to go find a pet turkey immediately - who knew foul could be so cute?; and my favourite, Fabulous Vera (Stefan Arsenijevic, Serbia-Montenegro) a delightful comedic drama involving embroidery, Cuba, true love and a tram. See it: if you want insight into Central and Eastern European life, if you like short story collections, or if you have a fondness for fowl. M...

MIFF said: "Sparse and smoothly executed, this first feature for Pernille Fischer Christensen is anything but sudsy slush, as the title may suggest. Fischer Christensen shows admirable circumspection and a gently humourous touch with a script that could easily have erred towards melodrama. The film is shot in warm and colour-rich 16mm stock, with largely mobile hand-held camera movements." I say: A straight film that deals with queer issues, this gentle exploration of the burgeoning relationship between a straight woman and her pre-op M2F neighbour was a definite treat. Although more focussed on Charlotte (Trine Dyrholme) and her fear, confusion and emotional frigidity than her sometimes self-hating neighbour Veronica (David Dencik) , the film's balance of drama and comedy was successfully navigated, with the different aspects of the story harmonising rather than conflicting with one another. The inclusion of episodic elements featuring an all-knowing narrator heig...

After all the hype, last night's MIFF opening night film was finally revealed as 2:37 , which by that stage was no real surprise, as it had become the movie that was almost everybody's front runner. The debut feature from 19 year old Adelaide director Murali K Thalluri, 2:37 is a derivative ensemble teen drama that's three parts Gus Van Sant's Elephant to one part Gregg Araki's Totally F***ed Up . It replaces Van Sant's central high school massacre with an Araki-esque teenage suicide, complete with numerous black-and-white interviews with the key protaganists interspersed among the key scenes. Elements such as tracking shots, temporal displacement, soundtrack and cinematography were copied almost verbatim from Van Sant's film. Awkward, earnest dialogue, coupled with inconsistent performances from the amateur cast, ensured that the majority of the film's plot 'twists' were telegraphed far too soon. Its more intense moments - including a confront...

Sorry, wrong Mogwai. That's better. THIS is Mogwai. After another exciting day at MCV yesterday, where my afternoon was spent trying to track down a cop who seems to have been flagrantly disregarding Victoria Police policy regarding beats and beat users (ah the thrill of being on top of a story as it unfolds) I went for a long, brisk walk from Fitzroy to Richmond through possum territory. There's a lot of the furry little buggers! My destination was the Corner Hotel , and a gig by Scottish post-rock quintet Mogwai . Drinks were held on the Corner rooftop before the show in the excellent company of tobytoby , mskp , davethescot and toby's bandmate Tom. Being broke (again) I skipped dinner - probably a foolish thing - in favour of a couple of glasses of wine. Yes, it was one of those 'choose between booze or food' nights, so being the lush that I am (and also because I'd had a huge lunch) I went with sweet, sweet alcohol. Once we'd been joined by my mate Josh...

Check this out, and tell me it isn't great (especially when it clicks over a new minute or hour). Hand-made clock.

In the last 24 hours, two of the blogs I read almost daily have posted related yet unrelated posts about the friendships that develop between we bloggers. Over at Path of Most Resistance , mskp has waxed lyrical about some of the excellent human beings she's met since she became a part of the blogsphere. Hell, she's even fallen in love as a direct result of blogging (with a helping hand from trivia ). It's all just too cute for words! At Downunderpants , DUP has commented similarly on how things have bounded along since he started blogging and came out. Consequently I'm feeling this tangible sense of connection with people - a reminder that no matter how fucked up the world gets sometimes, that there are excellent human beings around. People who inspire me, excite me and make me think about the world beyond my loungeroom. I'm actually feeling ridiculously happy:- I blogging And I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing Mogwai play tonight!

Once again I'm preparing to brave a sore arse, stiff back, hastily-gulped meals and the chance of dreadful movies for the sake of gorging myself on cinema at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival . Should people be trying to catch up with me in the next few weeks, look for me here: Wed 26th July The mystery which is OPENING NIGHT (I'll be thrusting a RRR microphone into the faces of 'celebrities' on the red carpet, then hastily editing it together the following morning following the opening party, god help me). Thur 27 July 5pm: A SOAP - Forum (F) 7pm: SUMMER '04 - F Fri 28 July 3pm: LOST AND FOUND - F 5pm: MANSLAUGHTER - Regent (R) 7pm: BUBBLE - F 9pm: PRINCESS - Capitol (C) 11.15pm: MIDNIGHT MOVIES - F Sat 29 July 11am: 9 SQUARE METRES FOR TWO - Greater Union (GU) 1pm: TOKYO EXPRESS - GU 3pm: ACCELERATOR 1 - ACMI Sun 30 July 11am: LOOKING FOR CHEYENNE - F 1pm: ACCELERATOR 2 - ACMI 5pm: METAL: A HEADBANGER'S JOURNEY - R 7pm: HEADIN...

Image: Bernie Slater, We are knowing who we ourselves are (detail) 2006. Octopus 6: We Know Who We Are is the sixth annual exhibition in a series exploring current trends in arts practice locally and nationally. This year’s exhibition presents the work of six artists from around the country, including Ash Keating (VIC), Merran Sierakowski (NT) and Matthew Hunt (WA). “ Their art draws from living in the environment of Australian society; which recently has experienced increasingly restrictive positions from national government on the constitution of our citizenry and writing of our histories, applying pressure to prescribe who we are,” says curator Zara Stanhope. While I thought too many of the artworks included in this year's exhibition were overly simplistic and lacking in subtlety and complexity, I do think this image (taken from the cover of the exhibition catalogue) is extremely striking. Plus I thought it was time I included a little visual art on this bloody blog of mine!...

Despite moaning about being broke in Saturday's post , I still managed to go out and have waaaaay to much fun that night. I suck at saving money. Now I have to go and sell some books or CD's to a second hand dealer just so that I can afford to eat for the next couple of days. Oh well, I need the shelfspace anyway... Saturday night started with a performance of Balletlab 's latest production Origami (hurrah for complimentary tickets!) at the VCA in Southbank. I'm not fluent in the language of dance, so such performances sometimes leave me cold, but this was a great show: intricate, breathtaking, whimsical, moving and clever, with a great score by David Chisolm , and wonderful interaction between the dancers and the stage design. You can read a review of the show here in The Australian , or here in The Age . Next up I headed onto The Order of Melbourne , a relatively new bar in the city (apparently it's been open for about three months, but I can't wait to imbibe...

Protests were held in 23 cities across the globe last Wednesday to mark the persecution of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in Iran . Amsterdam , Berlin , London , New York , San Francisco , Stockholm , Toronto and Vienna were among the cities where demonstrations were held to show solidarity with Iran ’s GLBT community. The protests marked the first anniversary of the hanging of two gay lovers in in Iran in July last year. Teenagers Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were executed on July 19 2005 in the Iranian city of Mashhad . Originally it was claimed that the two youths had committed one rape and were child molesters. By late 2005 it was claimed that they were serial child killers. “A year-long investigation into this case has revealed that the regime’s allegations against the two hanged youths are riddled with contradictions, implausibilities and outright lies,” said Peter Tatchell of UK activist group OutRage!. “Local sources in Mashhad state that Ma...

Because of my computer dramas, it's taken me a couple of days to post this; sorry folks. Anyway, here's what I covered on the show on Thursday.... 9.15am My first guest was Editor and Managing Director Danielle Paruit , from the new free monthly magazine Arts in the City , which describes itself as " a free monthly colour magazine about Melbourne's Arts and Entertainment industry ." Its first issue hit the streets on Monday July 10 , and is available from inner city cafes, arts venues and selected outlets. To be honest, I can't say I was that impressed with the first issue - but that's partially because I didn't feel like I was included in the magazine's demographic. It seems very squarely aimed at a conservative older audience, judging by the majority of the content. Anyway, I wish the magazine well - and hope that they can start to pay contributors soon! For details, check out www.artsinthecity.com.au 10.30am N ext up was a phone int...

Just finished watching a preview of this smart, sexy queer film that's showing at MIFF this year, as I'm interviewing the director next week. Directed by Q. Allan Brocka ( Eating Out ), Boy Culture is a film about love, lust, and the fear of love. A strong cast led by the brooding Derek Magyar (pictured) as the cynical narrator X, coupled with a clever script and an eye for subverting the stereotypical, memorably enhance what could have been a dull story about a hooker's need to be loved in someone else's hands. It's definitely not your stereotypical gay movie. For starters, it's a gay film that's not about coming out (5 points). Nor is it sacharine and sentimental (5 points). It's not a fluffy rom-com about vaccuous pretty boys (5 points). It features a male prostitute who's neither drug-fucked nor who dies/gets raped/gets AIDS over the course of the movie (10 points) and it features characters over the age of 30 (15 points). Boy Culture has hu...

Bloody computers. Bloody viruses. Bloody hell. I had to re-format my hard drive yesterday, then reinstall Windows, because my computer had slowed to a crawl. Then I had to go out and buy a copy of Microsoft Word, because I didn't actually have a copy, which means I'm now $200 poorer than expected and can't afford to buy my MIFF tickets until next week, let alone go to Witness Protection Program's 7th birthday party tonight and indulge anywhere near as much as I'd like to. *sigh* I spent all yesterday working on my computer, trying to make it work again, with the invaluable help of my mate Glen. Most of that time seemed to be spent on downloading and installing various software programs, and I'm not even halfway to reinstalling everything I had or need, such as a good audio program, which I didn't even know I needed. I thought having a sound card installed on this machine was all I needed to make tuneful noises come out of the speakers, but no! Damnbugger...

Yes, I'm in - I've entered as an intruder in the series that has everyone glued to their monitors: BIG BLOGGER! Currently I'm an intruder - let's see how long I last, hey? More importantly - will I get more action in the Big Blogger house than Farmer David?

Australian pop star Darren Hayes, who has sold more than 24 million albums worldwide (both as a member of Savage Garden and as a solo artist) has just come out through a statement posted on his official website . I don't like his music, but I applaud his decision. Here's the full text of what he said:- Monday, 17 July 2006 I very rarely make comments about my private life. But today, as I'm about to begin 6 months in the studio to record what I hope to be the best record of my career, I feel an overwhelming gratitude for the past 10 years of being a performer. Most recently, I've been moving toward a career that is more closely aligned with 'art' than it is 'commerce'. And in keeping on this trajectory - I have become increasingly more emotionally authentic in my music, writing and my relationship to my audience. As so many of you have given me your heart and soul over the past 10 years I thought it only fitting that I too return the res...

I really don't have much to post about at the moment. I promise I'll try and be a better blogger soon. I've recovered from the flu enough that I went out on Saturday night and didn't stagger home again until 7am Sunday morning. It was a fun night, what I remember of it: birthday drinks for my cartoonist friend David 'Herman the Legal Labrador' Blumenstein in the front bar at The Spanish Club, followed by a dash of burlesque out the back (although the stage was too low and the crowd to crowded for me to really see very much, save for a glimpse of Gabi from The Town Bikes with what looked like flyswats on her head as antennae, and a cheerfully drunk Glenny G as MC whipping up the crowd into a frenzy). Then it was on to Control for a few drinks, which turned into lots of drinks, and substances, and very animated conversations, and I'm not quite sure what else but I think it was fun... Earlier in the day I went to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's C...

A soft rain was falling when I went to bed last night, and it's raining again this morning. Given that we're suffering through a major drought, I welcome the weather. I just wish it was a downpour. Perhaps not quite the downpour that was the cause of this dramatic picture of a flooded Elizabeth Street in the city, taken by an Age photographer in 1972, but a downpour all the same. Our reservoirs are drying up, and the Wimmera is almost completely dry, which is going to fuck wheat crops for the next few years at least. If we don't get some decent rain soon the whole country's going to look like this: The only downside to today's soft rain is that my local laundromat will be crowded, which will probably bugger my plans for quickly nipping in and out of it this afternoon. Did I mention that it's called 'My Beautiful Laundrette'? Sadly, no signs of Daniel Day Lewis to be seen... Ah well. I can dream...

9.15am As Lucinda Strahan has new, study-determined obligations which have forced her to hang up her hat, John Born Dancin' Bailey joined us for his inaugural edition of SHOOT THE MESSENGER , our fortnightly arts news and gossip segment, this week. John scribes Beat's Art of the City column (although not for much longer) and was recently appointed the chief arts writer for The Sunday Age . He'll be joining us in this timeslot fortnightly from now on. 9.30am Artists Dave Last and David Porter came in to talk about painting en plein air and their group exhibition THE BOAT SHOW , now showing at Brightspace Gallery . "Group shows are two bob a dozen but a group that paints together and shows together … that’s a rare thing. BRIGHTSPACE is showing the work of a group of St Kilda based artists who paint together en plein air around the docks every second Sunday. The group includes a few very well known painters. There is some wonderfully fresh and lively work amongst the...

I have a cold. Runny nose, stuffed head, tight sinii, feverish. Don't expect me to post for a couple of days: I'm going be curled up under a doona feeling miserable.

Weekends should always be spent like this. After a frenzy of cleaning on Friday (I strongly recommend impromtu parties as a means of spurring the less-than-houseproud, such as myself, to doing housework) Friday night's party was excellent, especially given the short notice: there was a point I looked around and realised that my often fragmented life had miraculously combined, with representatives from various times and places all gathered together in the one venue. Miraculously, all of them seemed to be getting on together, too. Saturday I slept in til late afternoon, and recovered, and watched the first episode of the new Doctor Who series, which made me feel like a delighted child again - the sort of delighted child who wrote fan letters to numerous actors from earlier seasons of the series, and still have the autographed photos I received in reply from various Doctors, companions and other cast members to this day. Today I went to see The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada wi...

The penthouse located at New York's The Pierre Hotel encompasses the top three floors. Spectacular 360-degree views of Manhattan are found in this incomparable property. It encompasses 16 grand rooms - including five master bedrooms, 7 full baths and three half-baths, five working fireplaces, oak flooring with mahogany borders throughout, separate guest suites plus staff accommodations. The living room is considered the most magnificent privately owned room in the world... What do you mean you don't want to spend too much on me? It's only $70,000,000 US - don't be stingy!

My guests were:- 9.15am Sayraphim Lothian – 21 DEAD BUGS AS A GIFT - a unique project encompassing an album, zine and exhibition at THE ARTERY, Moore St, Fitzroy, from 11th - 23rd July. Opening night is Tuesday the 11th of July, 6-10pm. 9.30am Artist Hazel Dooney – ‘Venus in Hell’ exhibition @ MARS GALLERY [MARS] Melbourne Art Rooms 418 Bay St Port Melbourne 03 9681 8425 www.marsgallery.com.au Melbourne Art Rooms is proud to announce VENUS IN HELL, an exhibition of new works on paper by the well-known young Australian painter, Hazel Dooney, along with photography and video by Hazel Dooney and Creed O’Hanlon. 10.00am Stephen Banham from Letterbox – CHARACTER 3 - ACCIDENTS NOT SO GROTESQUE - an exhibition and forum for anyone interested in design, visual culture and the unpredictability of life presented by RMIT Communication Design and Letterbox, as part of the Melbourne Design Festival. Where: BMW Edge at Federation Square When: 4pm-7pm, this Saturday 8th July Convenor: Stephen Banh...

My friend George, the international criminal (he had a minor run-in-with the law while visiting the Shetlands, ok?) sent me these photographs of puffins that happily hopped right up to him yesterday. Apparently they "make a lowing like cows but with a little quacking in the mix." Cool. Remind me to visit the Shetlands next year, will you?

The blogsphere - not to mention the mainstream media, and schoolyards across the nation - have been positively humming with debate about the turkeyslapping of BB06 housemate Camilla by (now rightfully expelled) yobs John and Ashley . The media's silence about the bland approach taken by the show's producers towards explaining the affair (especially the so-called TV special that featured the two men involved and which was a classic example of turning perpetrators into victims - "They're good boys really, it was just a joke gone wrong") has been stunning, given that their so-called joke involved pinning a woman down and cock-slapping her. One of the most thoughful comments about the whole affair I've seen to date has been made by Mel at A Wild Young Under-Whimsy , and I quote: "Camilla is by far my favourite housemate and I totally want her to win, but after seeing the video, I am trying to avoid taking a stand on who is to "blame" for the "i...

It's my birthday tomorrow, which means that in one more day I'm going to be 39. Thirty fucking nine! I could ask how this happened, but then I'm sure someone would leave a comment for me explaining about the earth's annual rotation around the sun, etc, so let's just assume I've asked such a rhetorical question and move on, shall we? I've also just noticed that my 200th blogging post was about 17 posts ago, so so such much for celebrating that. I'd also made plans to throw a spectacularly boozy and debauched party to celebrate my last gasp of being 30-something, to which all my favourite bloggers were going to be invited, as well as my real-world friends: a grand union of the virtual and the physical, but what with one thing and another, the weeks got away from me in the same way that the last 39 years have, and I haven't organised a thing. That said, if anyone feels like dropping into Wally's bar on Saturday morning around 2am, I reckon there...

The previous post about ridiculous laws, in particular those regarding bestiality, inspired me to look for jpegs of angry sheep to include with the blog entry. No such luck - but I did stumble across... BLOOD LUST OF KILLER SHEEP - an article from that always reliable British tabloid The Sun . Over here you can find actual pictures of real life killer sheep . Tremble in fear! And just when you thought you could run and hide in your local googleplex cinema from the marauding flocks of woolly killers.... THE KILLER SHEEP ARE THERE TOO!!!! (Probably hiding behind the popcorn.) But do not despair, oh faithful readers! You can participate in killing these vile beasts, flash-style, over here - and you get to choose how the wooly little bastards die: by harvester, foot and mouth or, oh who can resist, Tarantino style! Have fun! (Killer sheep pictures (c) Weta, from the forthcoming film Black Sheep .)