Category: Uncategorized

  • 5.6.7.8’s at the Crowbar

    5.6.7.8's playing at the Crowbar in Sydney

    Was there any person in Sydney last night as cool as Chellio Panther Omo, the beret-wearing, middle-aged Japanese woman bass player of the 5.6.7.8’s? No. No, there was not.

    Show was fantastic, of course. They played for a full hour, and they played several songs that I recognised like “I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield,” “Barracuda,” and of course “Woo Hoo” (from Kill Bill: Vol 1). The Crowbar was heaving and lots of folks were dancing, and I was very grateful for the breeze from the electric fans above and around us. I was also grateful I remembered my Loop earplugs, and the Snook got to try out his new pair for the first time. It’s nice to leave a show without your ears ringing for the next 24 hrs!

    We also got to catch up with several friends beforehand, like Bex and Jakk and Megan and Hank (who took the photo above). šŸ©·

    And of course, you can’t go to the Crowbar without having barbecue…

    A man in an Aloha shirt with a tray full of bbq in front of him: brisket, pork, coleslaw, fries, pickles, and bread

  • Portraits of a City

    Four people in chairs on stage in front of an audience

    After our walk yesterday, we had to quickly freshen up (and tend to our wounds!) before heading back to the State Libraryā€™s ā€œPortraits of a Cityā€ event. Inspired by the current Peter Kingston exhibition, curator Mathilde de Hauteclocque brought together a panel of three artists whose work has often depicted Sydney: Vanessa Berry (of the Mirror Sydney blog and book), Reg Mombassa (of Mambo clothing fame), and Michael Kelly (painter and printmaker). Mathilde led them through an interesting discussion about how an artist thinks about capturing a place, as samples of their work (and Kingstonā€™s) played behind them. Reg was clearly the draw, as his work is by far the most well-known. He was the least reflective about his work though, admitting that his first impressions of Sydney (as a 17yo Kiwi immigrant) was that it was ā€œtoo hot and dirty.ā€ His artworks invoke the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House simply as handy iconography for ā€œAustralia.ā€ The other two artists were much more personal in their approach. Vanessa seemed to consider herself as more of a writer than an artist, but I loved her hand-drawn ā€œmapsā€ of the Sydney of her youth. They had a real DIY zine vibe. (We were especially tickled by the inclusion of Alex Cordobeā€™s Pizza.) Michael also seemed to feel a responsibility to capture parts of the city before they disappeared, and we got to see some lovely examples from his sketchbooks. After the discussion we headed up to the Library Bar for a well deserved drink!

    Artist sketchbooks showing drawings and watercolours of Sydney

    Two people talking a sunset selfie on a rooftop

  • Mini Kegs

    Mini Kegs

    Mr. Snook got rid of a lot of his homebrewing gear before we moved to Germany, and he’s taken his time since we’ve been back deciding what his new setup will be. He finally decided to go all-in on Kegland Mini-Kegs, getting two 5L and a 10L to start. He’s having a lot of fun playing with them already! Next step is to actually fill them with beer… šŸŗ

    A beardy man sitting at a table with some shiny metal mini beer kegs

  • Sydney Easter Show volunteering

    Guess who just passed her RAS volunteering interview? I will officially be volunteering for half a dozen shifts at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show. I told my friend Jody that I was going to do two shifts in the “Farmyard Nursery” and she was like, “Did you think that through?” šŸ˜‚ But really, it was that or the Poultry building, and I’m not a big fan of chickens…

    Be sure to let me know if you’ll be visiting on any of these days!

    My Easter Show schedule

  • A disservice to veterans

    Called my Representatives and Senators again, this time to ask them to oppose HR 740, the “Veterans Access Act,” which will contribute to dismantling the Veterans Health Administration. I told them that my grandfather James Harter proudly served in the US military on multiple tours of duty, and at the end of his life support from the VA was vital. HR 740 will be detrimental to the health care of over 9 million US military veterans, and for a nation that says they care about veterans, that’s completely unacceptable.

    If you’re an American and care about this issue, I urge you to call your representatives too.

  • Disenfranchisement

    I am a Hoosier born and raised; I’m a tax-paying American citizen; and the Republicans are trying to stop me from voting. The proposed anti-voter SAVE Act would hinder millions of eligible Americans from registering to vote by requiring citizens to present a birth certificate or passport in person to register. All of us overseas – including the military – would be affected. It also means if your documentation doesn’t match your legal name – like if you changed your name when you got married, or you’re trans – you also can’t vote. I’ve just called my Representative and both Senators to leave messages demanding that they oppose this legislation. You should too.

  • Bootlickers

    I was on the global board of Women at Amazon for 3 years. I met hundreds of folks working tirelessly on inclusive programs across multiple affinity groups around the world, top of their day jobs for no extra pay. And now this? This is disgusting, a slap in the face to all those Amazonians, and Andy Jassy should be ashamed.

  • Best of Bootie 2024

    The best time of the year: NYE means itā€™s time for this yearā€™s Best of Bootie 2024! Banger after bangerā€¦ šŸ’ƒ

  • I want to ride my bicycle!

    I managed my first bike ride in months today! Just a 15min pootle over to the library to return books, but given how badly I injured my hip when we moved house, Iā€™m being very cautious. So far no painā€¦ šŸ¤žšŸš“ā€ā™€ļø

  • Jingle Rock Bell

    Itā€™s surprisingly hard to find ā€œJingle Rock Bellā€ on YouTube, even using quotes, due to YouTubeā€™s assumption that I donā€™t know what Iā€™m looking for. I assure you, I do. Itā€™s a holiday banger! šŸ””šŸŽ„