stimulated and entranced...

thursdays are fast becoming one of my favourite days. good things happen on thursdays, illustrated by today's bank balance. yes, i got my gold star from the government, just in time to supply play money for my holiday in a couple of weeks.

dinner with flic and jamie at curves bar within the arts complex. i wish i could have stayed there all night talking with them both. but we had an opera to attend.


a beautiful production of the magic flute at the state theatre. i loved the sets and costumes, just glorious. it's the first time i've listened to this opera, and they had updated it a little - the acting segments, not the music or lyrics. the ocker talking up against german singing was amusing, as was the 6 pack of vb's, actually the character of papageno was a riot. oh the spinning room and the flying moon. i want one of each. and the... and the... yes, i did enjoy the spectacle.

table for one

does dining solo have the same stigma attached as it used too? not sure. i've done it many a year now, but tonight has been the first time in a while. dinner seems to scare people off a little more than lunch. i don't think i've ever had that fear. a book to read or something to write on and you're set until the meal comes. even then i find it easy to juggle a book in one hand whilst feeding my face with the other.


wandered into carlton tonight to catch up on a movie. went to see mary and max, the claymation film written and directed by adam elliot. a slow gentle story which i liked. totally in the mood for it. then wandered home again to the sounds of my ipod.

little brother sean's birthday today. he turned 11. [insert cliche about time and flying here].

scratch and sniff....

or just sniff. i'm being haunted by a fragrance at the moment. and let me tell you it's not a bad smell by any means, quite the opposite in fact. but it's driving me INSANE.

so i was thinking of bringing back the scratch and sniff stickers but this time instead of fruits and chocolates you can put in the aroma of the boy or girl you like... mmmm.... not sure how i'd manage to do this but it's something to think about. not in great depth, one of those skimmer-like thoughts.

tuesday. a slow kind of day.

i made it....

sunday... phew! there was some scrappy writing and a whole lot of day dreaming in starbucks to start the day. flic and tash dropped by for a quick chat after checking out of the hyatt. bought a couple of books before dashing home in the rain (forgot the brolly).

the day got icier from noon onwards. sophie had the house all closed up with the heater on. mmm... i snuggled under the doona and watched singing in the rain. a lazy afternoon.


the last of the comedy fest was the mad max remix at bar open in fitzroy. wandered over a little before 8 to meet jamie. got to sit in the front row couches and watch the foley guys go mad with foam and instruments, the actors guffaw their way through their last delivery of the show. a newly envisioned max wanted to be australia's favourite dancer, and the vision was cut from all the MM movies, tina turner music clips, a lethal weapon (the first one) and other odd footage. it was a little surreal but funny.

but now i am finally done. it's over. i am spent.

next...?

first boys, then girls, then all together

saturday started off in olmec's, brainstorming a script of dave's for nearly 5 hours. he'd asked michael, adrian and myself to help him work through some issues on one of his features. i think my head hurt just a little after. good session, to be repeated on our own projects. yeah, teamwork.

then into the city to meet up with the girls. felicity only has a couple of weeks left in the country before winging her way (first class i might add) to london. so for a catch up she booked a room at the grand hyatt and had invited girlfriends along. i really hated to leave as i was getting quite settled with the conversation and the arrival of chips.

but yes, you guessed it - i heeded the siren call of comedy. it's almost over and i'll resume a regular kind of life. honest. well, i'm sure i'll still over-fill my nights with stuff.


a comedy of errors ensued next - jamie thought the show started at 7.15 and was stressing about the long ticketing line at the town hall. (it was due to start at 9.45, uh huh). i realised that i had left my ticket at home, so had to make a mad dash back for that. a warm drink ordered somehow turned into ice tea (and not because it was sitting on the counter too long). we were always just one step ahead or behind jill and mark in the attempt to catch up before the show. but josie long's all of the planet's wonders (shown in detail) brought us together. there were occasions of laughter but it was a little bitsa for my liking. i did mightily appreciate the almost life-size replication of the constellation orion by the audience though. :)

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

and another one of my favourite things happens to be friday afternoons. yah fridays. and this one was even more fun-filled. met up with jenn at trades hall for nanna comedy. by this i mean a 5.30 show. ha!! trades hall is just glorious. what i especially love are the stone stairs. so well walked you have to watch that you step into the grooves of those who've walked them over the years. ah history, how i love the romance of thee. the reality of history... well, that's another thing. :)


anyway, philip escoffey's show - six impossible things before dinner was FANTASTIC. i didn't know what to expect because i hadn't read anything about him (besides him being from the uk). i just assumed it'd be stand-up, boy was i mistaken. spellbound for the entire hour, jenn and i shared "oh my god" moments all the way through. both the sceptics and we the believers walked out going "whaaatt just happened?" i've been sworn to secrecy so can't say anything more. for all the answers you must see the show.

i have three favourite shows now.


only u.s. comic of the festival for me (it seems they shipped a whole lot of uk comedians out instead of convicts this time - in today's climate is there really much difference?) rich hall is otis lee crenshaw was a last minute addition to my festival, and WOW, thank the heavens (and jamie) for it. side-splitting and eyes-watering with great music and just a little dirty at times. the crowd was appreciative and i'm sure half were quite drunk.

four top shows. he made it to the list.

are you ready???

a fun evening of pellegrini's before moving on to the forum for tim minchin's show "are you ready?" i love the forum.

it was formerly called the state theatre and completed construction in 1929. the first silent films to open the theatre (afterall it was built for the magic of movies) was a clara bow film, the fleet's in and the buster keaton the cameraman.

but i guess back to tim. very clever, insightful and funny man. did enjoy the show, though there were times i really had to concentrate to catch everything he was saying/ singing. still think there was a lot i missed.

wednesday night crowd

well, i have to say i was a bit disappointed with the audience, more than the comic. attended russell kane's gaping flaws at the roxanne (down a small street, into an alley, up three flights in a rickety elevator that threatened to heave it's last gasp at each inch, through strange iron gates to a room with a very high stage) is it all wednesday night crowds or just this one that seemed particularly hard work?? another uk lad. seems i've seen a lot of the type this festival. ;) i like the way he observes life.

knee boobs

yes i said knee boobs and i meant knee boobs.... stan stanley (aka andrew stanley) was very funny. had a really good time at this show. just mention full body wee to mark to get a reaction. hilarious. there was even mention of alton towers and the black hole (remember mom and ains??)

dinner in a carriage booth at the toff afterwards. very cool. must do it again.

no more city

what a joy to walk out of the house this morning. yes, it is a monday morning and yes, i have to be at work. but oh... the fog. it's everywhere. and even with the day moving on it seems to be getting heavier out there. thicker than miso but lighter than pea soup. :)

from the office window there is no longer a city skyline, and i can barely make out the graffitti-ed fence 100 metres away. muffled sounds of trucks and cars passing on the road nearby. feels like we're existing in this void, a grey-like zone with minimal sight and sound.

hmm... the only downside i see is that i'm stuck in it with a work colleague. sigh, can i do a swap??

so starts the farewells to felicity

austin "danger" powers... he's our man.


















and yes, there was a bit of the old "work it baby work it" kind of photo shoot in the passage way. a bit of dancing, boxes of pizza, drinking, and a screening of the first austin powers film.

walking out and staying in...

wednesday night comedy was with tash, rohan and nat....a local show called coming soon: the end. not soon enough i say. :) we ended up walking out at intermission. there's a good chance the show is still on right now. first time i've ever walked out of a performance.


friday comedy with jill, mark, lou and jamie was queen vic's secret catalogue. jamie and i stayed til the end. a sydney production that obviously we both liked. didn't tickle the other three's fancy. chairman mao's on brunswick to complete the evening.

a tuesday night in the city of comedy

mark watson - all the thoughts i've had since i was born - and i do have to say the title of the show is the very truth. who'da thought a person could talk so much? honestly... he was insane. words tumbling over each other on their way out of his mouth. this was a sold out event held in the main room of the melbourne town hall. i went along to an early evening session with jill, mark and lou.


before catching up with tash and rohan for a late gig at rosati on flinders. cutthroat: the story of two guys who stuck their necks out. it was okay, but i have to say i really loved their songs. very clever and funny. the one on flirting, definitely caressed the funny bone.

my ears are still ringing

though truthfully i can't say whether from the music or the crowds cheers. big bad voodoo daddy at the corner hotel in richmond. a far cry from the hollywood bowl in 2007. but i must say that the corner won hands down. frankie wants out started the jive, a fabulous melbourne band i've seen a couple of times now. and then BBVD - first time in australia after 16 years together - hit the stage.


i was slack and didn't take the camera (hence the stock web photos). there were quite a few of the swing kids about, and steve was clicking away, so i might see if i can get a few pics from him at some stage. there wasn't enough room to dance but the vibe was delicious.

a lot of fun was had.

a tie for first...

yes, it's true, sarah has to share top place with adam hills. caught his show inflatable last night with nat and jamie. it was bloody fantastic. love that man. hilarious and moving, who woulda thought it??

and since i'm so crap about remembering jokes i've asked nat to relay the number one joke of the evening that tied it all together, here tis...

there once was an inflatable boy who had inflatable friends and went to an inflatable school with inflatable teachers. one day the boy got into big trouble for taking a pin to school. the principal called him into the office and said "i am very disappointed in you johnny, you have let yourself down, you've let me down, you've let the whole school down". ba dum dum. :)

it's all about being an inflator through life, lifting those around you up, not deflating them. have to work hard at that.

a few drinks and laughs at the marriott hotel bar after the gig. not much open over the easter long weekend.

i so want a bunch of helium balloons. sigh...

as good a friday as any gone before

the hi fi bar on swanston set the scene for david o'doherty. i swear it's the most excited i've seen nat for ages... since she bought the tickets for the show i reckon. ha!! a fun show that included song, the playing of a mini yamaha organ, sophisticated lighting changes (for the "mood") and the 10 minute pre-ramble to open the show was bloody funny too. true, it does look like something died on his head, but the man is pretty funny.

a bit of a tangent for you. my eighteenth birthday fell on a good friday. oh yes, just when you thought you were able to purchase alcohol legally for the first time, you had another day to wait. i remember hanging out with my friend kim, in her parent's mini van. oh yeah. good times. haha!! yet another birthday my parents abandoned me. ;)

a friday feeling thursday

sarah millican's not nice with felicity.... and so far i have to say that she's the pinnacle of the festival for me. i've got a dozen or so shows to go yet but sarah was bloody hilarious. i had tears in my eyes from start to finish. very rude, naughty and just brilliant. even got a souvenir from the show, a not nice button (which has more than one meaning, that i can't disclose under pain of death by a million paper cuts, you'll have to see the gig yourself to understand).

felicity had a trial just getting to the town hall. we were suppose to meet earlier for a meal but her plane was late getting in from sydney so we managed italian on hardware lane after the show. what a fabulous place. i'm surprised i haven't been there before, but will definitely be getting back to again. jazz and good food most nights of the week, dining on the street under the stars. ah... good life i'm living.

more laughs!

sunday night, after a weekend of feeling poorly, was a steve coogan performance at the forum theatre with alex and carol. it was fun (but i've laughed harder before and since).


tuesday was jason byrne with nat, tash and jamie at the capitol theatre. great seats in a fabulous building. one of my favourites in melbourne. oh, and the comedy was pretty good as well. a lot of laughing was had.

wednesday night i trammed into the city to meet up with jenjoy and her mom, ruth. it's been a forever since i've caught up with jen in the flesh, and i must say, her flesh is looking mighty fine. a meal in chinatown and a lot of chatter.

and so it starts...

the month of sore stomach muscles, splitting sides and aching cheeks. yes, april is the melbourne international comedy festival. and so far i've booked in for around 20 shows. the hilarity started last night with a friend of frassy's show, the middle ages.


oh, and how many well wishes, lovin' and presents can a girl handle?? many thanks to all you beautiful people i call friends, my birthday"s" have just been wonderful.

it's my birthday

give me ALL your lovin'.