Let's go fly a kite...

I've been feeling a bit crap this week. Actually "crap" is the perfect word to describe it as I've had a tummy bug that's kept me, well um, very close to the loo. Get the picture? It's got me down. You know, wanting to eat real food, wanting to have a beer, wanting to leave the house and wanting just one night worth of good sleep. Today after my attempt at lunch I ran to the loo did what I had to do and then nothing. I haven't been to the loo for hours. I wandered down to the beach to fill my lungs with fresh air.

While I was there I felt the wind on my face. A reasonably strong winter wind was blowing in across the ocean. I needed cheering up so I ran home, grabbed my sports kite and headed back to the beach. A few minutes later she was in the air and my feet were being washed by the wash of the waves. Stress - gone.

The thing I love most about flying my kite on the beach is the fact that it's dad's with kids who stop and watch. Sometimes crowds gather near the surf club and watch me wrestle the winds. The second thing I love the most is getting my feet wet as I walk back against the wind and end up in the surf. The third thing I love the most is the fight to control the kite sometimes.

Overall, flying my kite makes me happy. I hope to one day, maybe next summer, get out there with a power kite and surf the waves as well.

The destruction of EVERYTHING

*This is not the most interesting post for others, but for me it is.

You know, in life, things change. Sometimes you are never aware of these changes. They are just part of your evolution. Sometimes a change is forced upon you by others. Then there are those personal times, when you're by yourself and something hits you in the face and says "Wake-up!"

Yesterday I attended a seminar on Adobe After Effects. It's to motion images what Photoshop is to the still image. Production of the moving image is the direction I want to head in over the next few years. I've dabbled but never really understood the creativity behind it. Yesterday, just like an epiphany, I got it. I watched a Foxtel boxing promo being put together and I now understand. I know it's not beyond me and I know exactly that this is my next evolution in creativity. Later in the evening I was sitting on the lounge watching TV and as per usual the very repetitive Discovery Sc commercials came on and I saw them in a whole new light. I saw them as layers, blend modes and compositions. I sat and deconstructed each commercial as it came on. TV was no longer TV. I can't look at a commercial as a commercial ever again. It's now all new. Every ad is processed, I can see the techniques used and how it was comped together. You may not notice the adjustment layers, the high passes and then screening modes but I can see them now.

So, while I was watching TV with new eyes and thought processes I sat eating my usual Friday night dinner of Pringles and beer. And then *slap* another realisation. I don't really like Pringles that much anymore. This is BIG news. I used to sit and easily eat a whole tube of these chips in one sitting. Now it felt like I was eating some sort of weird salty tasteless crap. I then realised that the previous Pringles that I bought was a few weeks ago and I wasn't really into them then either. My tastes have changed. This morning I found myself wandering around the local markets picking up bags of fresh peas and beans. Lately when I've been out for a pub meal I find myself ordering a side dish of green beans. I could just sit and eat them by the bowl. I cooked some up the other night for dinner. Just a single bowl of beans, lightly blanched, then transfered to a fry pan, tossed in the smallest bit of butter to make them shine, a drop or two of sesame oil and freshly toasted sesame seeds.

TV has changed. Food has changed. Where will this all end? How will this all end? These questions I know not the answers, but somehow my evolution continues.

There's a first time for everything...

On my journey home from work each day I usually stand at the stern of the Manly ferry and watch the city skyline shrink away and the expanse of Sydney Harbour grow bigger. If I'm on the ferry before sunset I usually watch for penguins. Maybe once or twice a week I'll see a couple of them.

Yesterday as I scanned the tips of the waves for the little penguin heads I noticed a dark fin pop up above the waterline. Then another and another. A pod of dolphins had entered the harbour. This is the first time I have ever encountered dolphins in the harbour and I had always assumed that it was just a myth that they crossed the heads. It was great to see and I hope to see them again sometime.

I wondered what she would do with this...

and this is very well produced. Very clever effects.

Alice update...

Johnny Depp as the wild Mad Hatter & Helena Bonham Carter as the tyrant Red Queen

I'm loving this right now...

We dug these holes we crawled into
Now they're my home
Now here I cannot feel the wind
Can't feel the rain, oh no
And I believe in gentle harmony
How I loathe all this obscenity
is this the way my life has got to be
by a single opportunity

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, and here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

And all at once I feel this
Oh how it clings to me (clings to me)
It reels and calls me towards it
Confounding destiny (destiny)
And I can feel the magnets pinch my hands
The more I run the more I am convinced
A girl who loves is like a precious glimpse
Just like we settle in the foggy mist

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

Damn beer...

Judo and I caught up for dinner tonight.
at The Old Manly Boatshed for dinner...
This place is Manly's most dodgy venue. Forgive the mobile pics.

I had the $5 special steak. Judo had the $7 schnitz. Really classy like. I enjoyed the company. I enjoyed my beer. Mmmmm the beer... There were 6 of us in the joint, including staff, so after dinner Judo and I went and played pool. I DON'T PLAY POOL. E.V.E.R. Judo has his arm in plaster so I thought I actually stood a chance. And guess what?! .. I won...
Ok, so he sunk the black, but - I still WON!

I had a few more beers and had well and truly broken the seal... So anyway, I came back from one of my many trips to the loo and Judo had kindly lined up a game of pool for me against this Kiwi dude, covered in home made tattoos. I'm guessing Judo thought this was rather funny. (Huh?! Didn't you!)

So with a fresh beer I came back and started strong. Well, at least I thought I did. The Kiwi, "Fred" as we call him, was on form and naturally I lost. So I had to do a nudie run around the bar which I did.... Nah, only kidding. There was no nudie runs - it's winter damn it!

So, after I lost a very handsome man walked in and "Fred", the kiwi pool shark and his scrubber woman, took this good look and his chick on in another game of pool. I was very happy to sit by on the sideline and just watch this match. A couple more beers and it was time to call it a night. A fun Thursday night in Manly.

It's a super venue...

but not quite what I had expected. This is Cloudland, Brisbane's newest superclub. The picture above really does not do the venue's facade any justice. It is stunning. I know many people wouldn't realise this, but when it comes to clubbing, Brisbane out-does any other Australian city. And not by volume, but by class. Walking into this venue you simply can not help but look up. The roof is glass. The heavens are there to be viewed. But more on the interior later. Let's talk food...

I've wanted to have a meal here since well before its opening. I was lucky enough to have good company and to be taken here to dine on my last trip to Brisneyland. The building is totally intriguing so I was expecting the same from the menu. What I wasn't expecting was the price. It was more than reasonable. In fact, I would say it was down right excellent value for money. Menu prices fall easily into the pub/beer garden price range. Ok, so it's not your RSL price range, but it's better value than most bars I've dined at in Manly.

I opted for the Ocean King Qld Prawns for an entrée. Pan fried and served with a leek, crispy prosciutto, and parmesan risoni. It was delicious. Our waiter was attentive. He knew we were in no hurry and actually asked us if we were ready for the main or if we wanted to chat for a little longer. We opted to chat.

My main: Grass Fed Eye Fillet. Marinated in shaoxing and oyster sauce then slow cooked and served on polenta with baby carrots and pickled mushroom ketchup, with a side of fresh green beans with toasted almonds. Are you getting the idea that this is not your standard pub grub?! The beef just melted in my mouth. Once again, delicious. I was totally enjoying this lunch. A nice bottle of Pinot Griz to go with the meals was just perfect. With no desert wines on offer we went for a Frangelico on ice as our desert. Drool.

The venue is not yet complete. There are some obvious finishing touches missing (like no light fittings on many incandescent globes), but the interior is.. well, bizzare. I took the above pic from inside the amazing open DJ booth overlooking the floor downstairs. There are so many nooks and crannies all themed differently from Japanese to Turkish to low rent wire patio furniture of the 70's. The main bar downstairs is a stunning piece of sculptured marble.
The bar up stairs is one of the most unusual bars I have ever seen. Thousands of clear glass spheres wrapped around the bar and run in wire waves and columns over the bar. This venue is large and I think fairly unique. There are so many rooms and different levels that numerous visits would be required to explore this place totally.
There are walls, a few stories high, covered in plants and tear shaped pods dripping from the ceiling containing yet even more plants. Everywhere you turn there is something to catch you eye from tiny paper butterflies fluttering in the breeze from the air con to glass covered portals in the floor that give you a glimpse into what is going on upstairs. Ladies, beware if you wear a skirt here and stand at the upstairs bar. Eventually this club is going to be joined to two other nearby super-venues by a skywalk. totally cool, totally Brisneyland.
I had expected this place to be a little more "glamorous" and not so mixed up, but this place is weird yet beautiful. As we sat finishing off a few late afternoon beers, we would watch people walk in off the street, make it past the front doors and just stand there looking up, then around, then probably wondering "where the hell am I?" - I did exactly the same thing when I walked through those doors too.