Archive - Jun 2005

Previous: NRL 2005 Tipping Round 16.

Crunch time. I'm tied for second place and first place seems to be too far ahead. That's why I've spent so much time considering which teams to tip this week. Even to the point of considering the effect next week's Origin match is going to have on this round. However I think I'm just even more confused. Oh well, here goes:

- BRONCOS to beat Sharks: They've lost a few players this weekend but, after last week's loss, they'll be wanting a win. (hehe... listen to me! like I know what I'm talking about!)
- STORM to beat Bulldogs
- COWBOYS to beat Warriors: Though I may change my mind tomorrow.
- EELS to beat Rabbitohs
- ROOSTERS to beat Knights
- RAIDERS to beat Panthers
- WESTS TIGERS to beat Sea Eagles

And I really don't know why I've tipped these teams. Honest.

On to some related news: The Queensland Origin team are staying at the hotel down the road from us. ST went down and met Lockyer, I'm still waiting for the photos. Meanwhile, the naming of the Gold Coast team: so long as it doesn't at all resemble any of the existing teams, that means no to Tigers of any kind, nothing that is Sea Anything, and we already have Knights and Warriors so it's a no to Gladiators or anything like that. The Gold Coast is too far south for Stingers. Giants sounds more like a name for a basketball team. Will get back to you on that one once I make a decision.

Tags: NRL.

Sharapova's contemplating whether or not it's easier this year than last year and it's time for me to share my thoughts on the women at Wimbledon. Firstly, the more straight-forward semi-final:

- DAVENPORT to beat Mauresmo: I haven't watched either of these women played this fortnight but Davenport simply is the better player and, judging from the highlights that were just played, she's actually moving around the court pretty well. Not to mention those groundstrokes: scary.

- WILLIAMS to beat Sharapova: though I won't be surprised if I'm wrong here. This is less about tipping the winner than it is about picking a favourite, after all the injuries and personal loss that Williams has gone through over the last couple of years, I want her to win. Williams was impressive against Pierce, that scoreline was more about Pierce taking her time to warm up but Venus was playing to win right from the start. That being said, Sharapova has been incredible as well, she too fights for every point.

... actually after typing all of that I've changed my mind: Sharapova to win the entire tournament. That being said, if Williams gets through, Davenport should be able to account for her. Oh I don't know...

BTW the men: Federer to meet and beat Roddick in the final. Very boring.

Tags : Tennis, Wimbledon.

UPDATE Friday: Ooops! Should have stuck to my guns. Venus all the way! Looking at that scoreline, it's hard to see past her as the winner.

I'm finding it hard to cross that line and say that I like Brisbane. In one day I find myself lunching at the delicious Spoon at James St Markets only to put up with dodgy service and lacklustre food and bland wine in the Valley later that night. At the very least I now know a couple of places to go for good coffee, but I can't find any decent clothes to buy.

Last night I went to The Beat, which is conveniently just down the road from our hotel, to watch Beat Idol for a few laughs. Like Arthur's in Melbourne there's a distinct eighties feel to the music, albeit a 21st Century Mashed up and Metrosexualised version of it, but there are no pretensions of cool. At all. I mean, red and pink neon? That ridiculous tubed party lights thing they've got wrapped around everything?

Monday night, not much happening, Beat Idol postponed, waiting for something more than just funky white boy and pouty bra-losing queen only to concede that this was all they were getting for the night. Funky white boy flashes a nipple but that's not enough for outright victory. There is no justice in this world. Doesn't matter, soon he'd be shirtless, top-button-of-pants-off-flashing-underwear, podium dancing and I'd be up there slipping notes into his knickers. A couple of flirty looks and a comment about his handcuffs-for-bracelet look, he's kissing some chick and I storm off. But not before experiencing some tactile signals from a guy I thought was straight whilst chatting to his friend who ST thought was gay checking out funky white boy I thought was gay who was about to snog some chick.

No wonder I'm a bit confused. At least everyone seems quite nice.

Tags: Brisbane.

Requiem did this so I thought I should do it too:

Previous: NRL 2005 Tipping Round 11

It's been awhile since I've done one of these updates, mainly because the show has kept me quite busy. Also because I'm a bit over running the show, taking the tips etc. This week I've been finding the show and being away from home a bit difficult and it's generally been a mess trying to organise the tipping this week. So far, with four games already played, I'm not doing very well. Here are my tips. Don't laugh!

ROOSTERS to beat Eels - OMG I thought I tipped the Eels! yay!
COWBOYS to beat Raiders - crap. And by one point as well.
PANTHERS to beat Knights - how was I to know that the Knights would turn their dismal season around this round???
STORM to beat Rabbitohs
DRAGONS to beat Wests Tigers
SEA EAGLES to beat Bulldogs
BRONCOS to beat Warriors

Tags: NRL.

1. Wake up relatively early. ie Nine O'Clock.
2. Remember to pack over-priced designer shirt and crusty old second-hand pants to wear at post-show drinks.
3. Head down to the West End and pray to God that there'll be a place down there that does a decent soy latte. Eat a really big breakfast.
4. Get a haircut in Southbank.
5. Get into Rehearsal studio early to warm-up for class and end up chatting for the whole time until class begins. Gently remind the dancers that did the media call that they've been at work for three hours already.
6. Spend too much time chatting to people strapping their feet, holding up the tech-run. Have a light snack.
7. Do a really shit rehearsal. "Bad rehearsal, good performance" is what they say.
8. Eat a really big and very late lunch. Have a nap.
9. Pre-show warm-up class begins with lots of chatting and daggy dancing and laughing.
10. Have a light snack.
11. Berocca.
12. Prep cossies, water bottles, and all of my sweat towels.
13. At beginners' call, put on cossie and apply paint liberally to body parts. Chat alot, laugh alot and do some daggy dancing.
14. Circle?
15. Stand behind wall and complain that the water is too cold.

And then IT'S SHOW TIME!

Tags: Dance.

UPDATE: What really happened!
1. Set alarm for 8:30 to take into consideration the Snooze Button factor. Constantly hit snooze button and get up at 9:30.
2. Notice that new designer shirt has stains on it already and I haven't even worn it yet. Curse loudly. Forget to pack black socks.
3. Couldn't be bothered going all the way to West End so I just caught the train to South Bank. Found a decent soy latte HOORAY! it was from a cute little cafe called Garage Espresso (???) and, though slightly bitter for my tastes, the soy is smooth and not overly steamed. Found myself starting to like Brisbane. Eat a fanstastically large breakfast.
4. The one hairdresser on Little Stanley Street looks a little too trendy and, besides, having a good hair day so opt out of a hair cut.
5. Made it just in time for warm-up class. Gently reminded media call dancers that they've already been here for three extra hours. (In the end, the papers didn't use any of the pictures of the girls. hehe.)
6. Went straight into notes, didn't waste too much time.
7. Did a really bad rehearsal. Legs are feeling tired and heavy.
8. Subway. Internet. No time for nap.
9. Warm-up class was surprisingly focussed. No energy left to muck around.
10. QPAC leaves a very large basket of goodies for the dancers. I eat a banana, peeling it all the way to the bottom. The dancers from Queensland are offended by this.
11. BEROCCA!!!
12. Prep cossies, water bottles, and all of my sweat towels.
13. At beginners' call, put on cossie and apply paint liberally to body parts. Chat alot, laugh alot. No energy for daggy dancing.
14. Circle!
15. The water behind the wall isn't too cold. Hooray!

Round Two - Marat Safin vs Mark Philippoussis

OMG the net on centre court just fell down!!!

Meanwhile, saw a topless picture of the Poo in the Courier Mail, an ad for soup... anyway, man, is he one lopsided boy, his pec and arm muscles on his right side are twice as big as the ones on his left and his right shoulder is inches lower than his left and his rib cage is slightly off to the left. I wonder why???

And now he's having problems with his right ankle, possibly because he's compensating for his left ankle that's got a support on it.

Its always good to see an Aussie win but I think I want Safin to win here.

Tags: Tennis, Wimbledon.

The last thirty-six hours in Brisbane have been pretty mediocre. The weather has been miserable on the scale of Melbourne, with none of that city's stylishness and very few attractive men as distraction. I've had two crappy breakfasts in two different malls. The coffee has been woeful. The buildings are boring. We waited for ages for the next train from South Brisbane to Brunswick Street (though admittedly it was quite a fast trip when the train finally arrived). Woolies closes far too early, even on weekdays. The streets around the hotel are devoid of life once the sun sets, despite being midway between the CBD and the Valley. Did I mention the coffee here is really bad?

On the plus side, strangers here seem more prepared to chat to you, it's a little more laidback out here in the country. I'm loving this whole 21st floor experience, looking down on the city. And Woolworths is actually called Woolworths here so you don't feel silly here saying "I need to go to Woolies" like you would if you said it in Melbourne. But it's certainly a comedown from Melbourne.

I guess Melbourne has a few things about it that I don't like. Here's a few:
- People smoking in bars.
- The distinct lack of decent newsagencies.
- Slow, overpriced trains.
- Woolworths being called Safeway.
- Russell Street, where we were staying, is really dodgy.
Otherwise, I can handle it's idiosyncracies: AFL guys are generally better-looking than their NRL counterparts, hook turns are fun, the crackdown on j-walkers generally means more civil behaviour from pedestrians, the cold makes people dress up more. Add to that, the taxis are relatively cheap, the food is generally good, the bars are small and intimate and there's far too many clothes shops.

Tags: Melbourne, Brisbane.

Update: Today, Brisbane played it's ace card: it was a warm sunny day. What happened to winter? Who cares? It was time to get out my lovely summer shirts again. Still no luck on the coffee front, I'm open for suggestions on where to get a decent one in the Spring Hill/City/Southbank area. I am loving the theatre, though, it is BIG!!! We are so spoilt for space here, you can properly fit a canoe backstage. And the stage floor is like a trampoline, there's quite alot of give.

In The Good Weekend Elizabeth Farrelly nominates twelve of Australia's best buildings (not before discussing her opposition to the idea of "bestness"), of which two I've already mentioned (Aurora Place and Australia Square), a third I'm planning to write about (Governor Phillip Tower). Although she omits Federation Square, it's rather disappointing to see that so far I've gone for the most obvious buildings to write about. Can't I just get my own original perspective on the matter?

Anyway, let's hold that thought for a moment. After spending an obscene amount of money for a designer shirt in Fitzroy (a bonding experience with a girl I used to live with in Canberra, she also bought a pair of funky shorts also for an obscene amount of money) I happened to pass Melbourne Museum. I wouldn't say that it's one of my favourite buildings, I didn't get a chance to have a look inside, but it was certainly interesting enough to warrant a walk around. And a few pictures, too. It's like some giant kid's gone and messily piled his giant toy building blocks in the middle of Fitzroy Gardens. A contrast to the more conventional form of the adjacent Exhibition Building, it demonstrates a level of innovative design that may have been on display at the Melbourne Exhibition all those years ago. I think the two huge sloping panels at the entrance are a bit much but I like how the glass fragments the reflection of the Exhibition Building, though none of the pictures that I took captured that.

Now that I'm in Brisbane, though, I can't imagine that I'll extend my list of favourite buildings while I'm here. It's all pretty dreary. Brisbane may have more skyscrapers than Perth but it's the latter's skyline that's the more exciting, having two of Australia's tallest buildings sharing centre). There is simply nothing here worth noting! Maybe I'll mention a church (St John's Cathedral just down the road from us might be a contender) but, really, it's a bit pathetic.

Tags: Melbourne, Melbourne Museum, Building.

A scene from our end-of-season party in Melbourne.