EUROVISION 2010

I do love a good Eurovision contest, the tacky pop songs, the even tackier fashions and just how serious the Europeans take it all. It adds up to a great night of viewing. Sadly this really requires copious amounts of alcohol as well and this year I'm up north in a camp that only serves mid strength beer. Yes you read right, mid strength beer...it's unaustralian I tell you. Onto the show....

Some highlights (or lowlights depending on your angle) of tonights final....

• Belarus take it out for me wth the best surprise moment, not content with bringing back the front curl in womens hairstyles the three woman behind the two guys sprouted butterfly wings near the end of a very intense song. I snorted my mid strength Peroni beer out of my nose the instant they popped out .... too funny, I mean seriously watch this vid for the curls and then the wings....

• Serbia narrowly pip Belarus for best haircut of the night with Milan Stinkbitch and his fringe....

• Greece, what can I say about Greece...OPA!! Note the 3rd back up dancer at the start, now we now what happened to Kylies dress from that video....

• Georgia get a guernsey not because they did anything horrendous but just because the singer Sofia Nizharadze is so damn fine, although apparently she doesn't have the ability to walk on her own....

So all up not the best Eurovision I've ever seen, no way near enough kitsch and the hosts were never crappy enough. Deep down though you coud dsee the tackiness bursting through everywhere so there's hope for Eurovision yet. The UK sucked AGAIN and can someone please explain to me why they do the votes in English and French. Everyone speaks in English on the night, they even moslty sing in English so what get's the French the second language rights? Why not in Polish as well?

The winner was definately the right choice, don't click this if you don't know who that is yet.

ABC THEME BY PENDULUM

Some local Perth lads (Pendulum) get down with the ABC theme - pretty damn cool, crank it up loud

A CLOUDY CUP OF CHA

We worked under some amazing cloud formations today - all day





oh and we watched the billy boil

LIKE WHAT, FROM THE SKY?

Sometimes you find yourself walking through the bush in the Pilbara (what, you never do?) and you suddenly find something you really wouldn't expect to find.

I mean .... a football? The darndest things....

365 DAYS WEEK 28

Week 28 of my 365 Day challenge and looking back I seem to have spent it roaming my neighbourhood, which must have been a subconscious thing as I'll soon be leaving it. I bought a house yesterday. Not moving too far in fact only two streets but everything will change slightly. So I roamed

DIE FANTASTISCHEN VIER

The song is a bit annoying but the clip is awesome
I wonder why that frame was chosen to show first?

Die Fantastischen Vier - Gebt uns ruhig die Schuld

MY STATE OF TRANCE

Just arrived in the post - very happy

JUST COS IT'S AUTUMN

and my back yard is turning orange

JACK JACK JACKSONS

My brother has flown over from Queensland on business and his first request was "Let's do dinner at Jacksons". I gave him the Jacksons bug a few years ago on a visit so he's always keen to get into a Dego menu. Things had changed slightly from the last time I ate there, as in you can only have the Dego menu on a Saturday night, regular ala carte is gone and I'm so very okay with that. I think Jacksons works best when it does degustation. A winner in my books and why I rate it amongst my top five which is really 8 or something like that, I lose track.

Their Dego menu is 7 courses to which we added a sorbet course and they added a further 3 courses bringing it to a total of 11 courses all up. Keep in mind that the courses are smaller than a normal meal would be but also keep in mind that you get a different glass of wine with each course. A fantastic journey of flavours and smells.

The salmon course

These below were one of the extra courses, pastry twirls filled with a liver parfait



We had two desserts and then we were given these as a final petit four with coffee.

As always the service was impeccable, the staff have a great knowledge of what it is they're serving and each dish is explained in detail, the very same goes for the accompanying wines. It all adds up to a memorable dining moment. Be aware though that Jacksons is top end dining and so it's not cheap. The Dego costs $125, with the standard wine package it's $180 or the Premium wine package which rounds out at a cool $240 a person. Special occasions only? Quite possibly

High lights: The "steamed bun" course = wow!
Low lights: Honestly, nothing at all

Score: 9 secret courses out of 10

THAT'S A WEDDING CAR # 6

I live near a church, so most weekends I'm lucky enough to see some great and some not so great wedding cars. Today it was the not so great, the tacky Chrysler 300C, ugly when it's normal size, no better when it's elongated....

SPEAKING OF INTENSE

Whoa! & thanks Tiff

THE HOOD # 110

The roaches of Walcott

365 DAYS WEEK 27

Week 27 of my 365 Day challenge meant I got to come home for a while and to enjoy all the good things that come with that.

WEST END BOYS IN A WEST END TOWN

"Hello"

"You up for a threesome?"

"Aren't I always?"

"West End Deli?"

"Righto"

Get your minds out of the gutter. Right, now read on about a most awesome eatery that you all have to try if you haven't already. The West End Deli is in an old corner delicatessen (you didn't see that coming did you?) in Carr st West Perth. I'd driven past many times but never stopped, until last night that is. Waz, Gaz and myself rolled in around 7.30pm

This place looks great, we decided it had a more Sydney than Melbourne feel to it, but still a lot of Perth <- that's a good thing BTW. We were seated straight away by smiling staff. First gold star right there, nothing worse than staff who are too cool for school, the crew at the West End are cool, don't get me wrong, but they're happy to see you and gave us great service all night. Our wines were always topped up and the attention to detail was more than I had expected.

There were 2 or 3 other tables there last night with others arriving after us, one large table of shall we say seasoned citizens, who complained about having the front door open on what was possibly the warmest night in Perth in weeks. I guess your bones feel it more as you age. So after their request to close the door was met we all started to get fairly warm. We gave them a good twenty minutes to "warm up" and then asked that it be opened again. The staff were more than happy to oblige and thankfully it didn't become a war of warmth v cold. I so would have taken out the old dude on the end of the table if it came down to it...no mercy. Plus they ordered before us and a large table meant we waited a bit for our first course, not too much though, but I had a score to settle if they wanted to take me on.

Now to the food, some "little things" to start with a bowl of olives and some baked fresh on the premises bread which was sensational. For our appetisers we chose a gnocchi and two scallops. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the brandade accompaniment was perfectly balanced. The gnocchi is clearly made on the premises or at least nearby as all good gnocchi should be and very nice. However the only gripe for the evening happened here when the waiter asked if we wanted pepper on our dishes, which was fine for the scallops but it seems the gnocchi already had a fair bit of pepper throughout and the extra serving hurt the dish. Perhaps it shouldn't be offered until it's been tasted.

For our mains we chose the rabbit linguini, the brioche encrusted veal and the barramundi. All of them fantastic dishes. Who knew pork belly and fish liked each others company that much "Best pork belly I've ever had" - Gaz. What was really cool was that you are served a salad of picked greens and potatoes with your mains. No charge! yeah you read right, no charge. This is so against the grain were extras are a easy way to bulk out the dining bill, I know I've been responsible for it myself over the years in a few restaurants. Now that I no longer chef I'm excited to see somebody offering this. Oh and the dressing on the salad - to die for, seriously, an awesome explosion of flavours.

We finsihed it all off with dessert, trying one of each of the three on offer, the creme caramel, the lemon tart and the poached pear. All were great but the lemon tart was one of the lightest and nicest I'd ever eaten and I love my tarts, I've had a few. So I guess by now you can tell I'm pretty keen on the West End Deli, I've been told I have to try the breakfast there as it's fantastic, no problem

Highlights: The food, the service
Lowlights: Pepper Attack
Apologies: The Pet Shop Boys for destroying their lyrics in this reviews title
Scoring: 8.5 nineties pop songs out of 10

INTENSE

Spotted in Fremantle today

IT'S WILLIAM FITZIMMONS WEEK HERE, ALL WEEK, YES ALL WEEK

I've been playing this track on loop, a beautiful song by William Fitzsimmons made even more so by George Raquet. Hit the pointing down arrow on the right to download the song.

William Fitzsimmons - I Don't Feel It Anymore (George Raquet Remix) by StuRap

COP THAT

A little stunned right now. Driving home through Subiaco tonight the cops in the pic pulled a car over in front of me. The younger of the two cops (on the right) then steps out into the middle of the road and extends his arm and points, I thought he was pointing at me or one of the other cars in front. But he was it turns out pointing at the dude up in front of me on a bike. The cop was yelling something but the rider had his iPod engaged and even I could see his earphones 3 cars away so he didn't hear the cop. As the rider passes him (all happens in space of 3 metres), the rider was trying to avoid all the traffic banked up by the pullover, the cop lashes out and hits the rider hard in the arm. Both the cop and rider lose balance and luckily the rider stays upright. He, like me, is totally stunned. After gaining control of his wobbling bike and removing his earphones the cop tells him to pull over to the curb in front of the car (he's just out of shot here but the younger cop is walking up to him).

The irony being that he was being stopped for not wearing a helmet. He was lucky he didn't stack it, he would have needed a helmet then. As i drove slowly past them the cop was mouthing "cos you didn't stop, if I tell you to stop YOU STOP". Seriously? Because the cop failed to use the correct hand signals (palm flat and raised upwards instead he just used a pointed finger) and because the rider amongst all of the traffic confusion, plus the earphones, didn't realise he was pointing at him, the cop can just lash out and almost knock the guy from his bike? Where the fuck are we living? Soviet Russia?

Edit: Tiang commented that this is what they would have done to the same dude in Denmark, much better :)

EVERYBODY STAY KALM IT'S JUST A TYPO

Gaz (YeLPars' eyes on the ground - Northbridge zone) sent me this today, he snapped it at the corner of William and James st. What scares me the most is this is the store that did MY tattoo and you'd kind of hope that if anyone is gonna spell something correctly it should be the dudes that ink you up right? I'm hoping they didn't paint it but man they would have proofed it yeah?

Look closely and you'll see it....

WILLIAM FITZIMMONS - SO THIS IS GOODBYE

I've been listening to music through my headphones for the past hour or so, scoping some new tunes, I love the internet for this. So much otherwise unobtainable new music to be found, like William Fitzimmons for example. Wow just wow, and a hell of a beard....

Click the link below to have a listen and if you like it download for free at RCRD.LBL

William Fitzsimmons - So This Is Goodbye (Pink Ganter Remix)

William Fitzsimmons is one of the oddest people you will ever meet. Born the youngest child of two blind parents, William was raised in the outskirts of the steel city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Due to the family's inability to communicate through normal visual means, William's childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. The house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories, and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands. When his father's orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. By the completion of his youth and schooling, Fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills, and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.

Fitzsimmons' path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. It was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled monies from past birthday's, holidays, and snow shoveling outings, and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album). After finally achieving his goal of becoming a practicing therapist, William left, and returned again to his love of crafting and playing songs. He felt that is where he most belonged. Somewhere between a singing therapist, and a counselor who writes songs, is where Fitzsimmons endeavors to be. Using songs to address matters that he believes need to be addressed.

William draws from those early folks stylings of his mother's music, and the embellished instrumentation of his father's. He is often compared to contemporaries Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and the late Elliott Smith, not only for his unique style and skill in writing and proclivity to deal with substantive and evocative subject matter, but also for his use of organic and colorful melodies and arrangements. His first two records were completely self-produced and his new album, "The Sparrow And The Crow," produced by Marshall Altman at Galt Line Studios in Los Angeles, is his first studio recorded work. While his lyricism deals often with darker undertones (his most recent album is said to have been written following his own divorce), a measure of hopefulness is always carefully blended in. Even with his short tenure as a songwriter, William has already received mention in noted publications such as Billboard, Paste Magazine, and Performing Songwriter Magazine, and his music has been featured on several television programs such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Army Wives."

SCISSOR SISTERS - INVISIBLE LIGHT

Stuart Price’s Herculean Euro-dance influence looms large on Scissor Sisters’ latest album’s—Night Work—first single “Invisible Light.” It sounds like Duran Duran booming through the stacks of a damp, pleasure-ridden German disco. Oh, the places it will take you.

Scissor Sisters - Invisible Light

THE FIG

Spotted this little number on the way to work this morning. I have no actual idea as to what type of car it is except uber cute. And is that the most perfect private plate on a car ever?! If anyone has a clue as to the type please let me know.

Edit: I knew someone would come through, it's a Nissan Figaro and I figured the Fig was in reference to the colour.

HOW AMAZING ARE WE?

I often look at the human race and think how shit house we really are, we do so much wrong to each other and to our planet. Then occasionally I see something that makes me think there's hope for us yet. I was bored tonight, the bazillions of web pages on the Internet failed to amuse me and then I thought "what about watching the space shuttle Atlantis dock at the ISS. " As you do. I mean, this is 2010 and I can watch it from my own computer, so why not do it.

Seems it's a very slow process, I started watching 3 hours ago and it was no where near ready to dock, so I came back every now and then and a few hours later BAM! she docks. The fact that firstly we can send machines like this into space filled with humans is incredible, that I can simply turn on my PC and watch it unfold live is amazing. So why can't we be amazing and incredible ALL of the time?

If you click here you can see live footage of the shuttle docked at the ISS, if you hurry.

365 DAYS WEEK 26

Week 26 of my 365 Day challenge spent for the most part excavating a couple of caves on a cattle station in the East Pilbara, then home for the weekend