Australia Brisbane
Brisbane crooks are stupid
Anyone who is worried about crime in this city can take heart from the fact that there is evidence the violent criminals are incredibly stupid.
Student bashing another mistaken identity
This is the latest in a series of home invasion attacks where the victim wasn’t the intended target. In July a student had 3 fingers hacked off with an axe and in the same month another man was beaten to death with baseball bats but police believe he wasn’t the person the assailants came to kill.
I’m sure this is no consolation to the victims. But you’ve got to wonder, if you …
Date: October 24th, 2003 | 4 comments
Meeting Swagman
George Dunn, of Swagman fame, was in Brisbane for a couple of days and we’d made arrangements to watch the Fiji v. USA rugby world cup match. Unfortunately, those plans fell through, but he said the match was a good one.
Instead, I jumped on the train and met up with him, his brother Joe and Aussie girl Nikki at the Embassy Hotel in the city on Thursday night.
As I arrived I was handed a free drink coupon at the door and found George and co about to start a game of pool. Upon finding out about the coupon, he went to the front door, turned on the US charm and returned with several more coupons.
Making our way through the free beers, George asked about BootsnAll and its future plans and Nikki gave me the scoop on all sorts of new visa options for those wishing to spend extended amounts of time in the US. She also gave me a contact at IEP, which was very cool.
Date: October 18th, 2003 | No Comments
After the Show
After having a good laugh at Chicks Love It, Ging and decided that a few more drinks were in order. We were also meeting a friend of hers, Irish Pedro, at some point in the evening, whenever he arrived from Sydney on the train.
At the bottom of the hill from Central Station on Edward Street there is a club called Underground. It’s where Rosie’s used to be for anyone that remembers. We talked to the security dude out front for a bit and in hindsight he should have been a clue. He looked about 12 years old.
Date: October 10th, 2003 | No Comments
Wildlife Encounters
Australia has something of a reputation for wildlife. It’s either cute and cuddly or it’ll kill ya. Sometimes both.
When I was living in the States people would sometimes ask me about all the deadly creatures we have down here and how you live with them. After telling them all sorts of lies about how tough we all are down here, I usually come out with the truth that as a suburban kid most of the deadly snakes and spiders I’ve come across are safely behind glass and taxidermied at the local museum. About the most dangerous thing I’ve come across is the spastic dance you do after walking through a spider web in the dark at 3am, pissed as a newt. You’re more likely to do serious damage to yourself than be poisoned by an arachnid.
Date: October 2nd, 2003 | 1 comment
AFL Grand Final Day
It’s a big day for the city of Brisbane. The Brisbane Lions take on the Collingwood Magpies for a third straight premiership win - a feat not accomplished in 46 years.
Popular opinion suggests that Collingwood are a better side than the one Brisbane defeated in last year’s grand final. Brisbane fans will argue that their team’s experience in the big games will carry them through.
Either way it should be a cracking game and I’ll be yelling for the Lions.
Date: September 27th, 2003 | No Comments
Rugby Festival
Went to the Rugby World Cup over the weekend and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Even though I was as far back as you can possibly be, the view was still superb and the crowd was excellent, even though Australia ran out easy winners.
Even though I bought the tickets on the opening day, by 9am you could not buy consecutive tickets so Toby and I had to sit in different aisles, about 30 metres away. No big deal and I’m poretty sure his seat was good too.
After the match the trains were packed so Toby suggested going down to TinBilly’s …
Date: October 19th, 2003 | 1 comment
Lovin' the Internet
I was just sitting at my desk here in Brisbane and I received a phone call from Sean Keener in Chicago. He and Jen Leo are wandering the streets, lost. They asked me to look up on Yahoo Maps where they were and how to get where they wanted to go. Within 5 minutes I had the answer and sent them on their way. Through a combination of Voice-Over-IP and free minutes on Sean’s mobile he was able to get directions from halfway round the world.
Man, I love the internet.
Date: October 15th, 2003 | 6 comments
Chicks Love It
I was reading through the paper today while eating lunch, just scanning headlines and dipping in where something caught my eye. I glanced at a photo in the arts section (what the hell was I doing there?) and saw a familiar face.
In a previous lifetime I worked at Pancakes on Broadway with a great group of people. One of those people was Ryan Donovan and it was his face I somehow recognized in the paper. He is part of a production that’s playing at the Metro Arts in the city.
Chicks Love It
Answering all your questions about blokes from the …
Date: October 6th, 2003 | 4 comments
Short Film Festival
Browsing through the weekly free news-mag the Brisbane News, I came across a film festival at the University of Queensland’s Schonell Cinema. It’s called 50 Minutes from Home and over the course of a week (starting today) they’ll show nine new Australian films with a running time of 50 minutes.
It’s a project by the Australian Film Commission designed to give experience to up and coming filmakers that’s more challenging than a short film and not quite as expensive or full-on as a full length feature film.
And as a bonus, since the films are so short, the …
Date: October 2nd, 2003 | 2 comments
Mmmm, beer...
What better way to kick off the weekend than at a Brisbane institution – the now 14th National Festival of Beers. While it could arguably be considered just another excuse for a pissup, the point is to sample beers from micro, and macro, breweries around the country [and some imported brands] that are generally less accessible. On arrival at the gate I notice there’s no queue and not a lot of people inside, but purchasing beer tickets and with ‘menus’ in paw, we head in. Friday’s probably the least busy night for the 3-day event, though the crowd that were there were certainly committed to their art - at the bar, on the dancefloor and everywhere they staggered in between.
Date: September 22nd, 2003 | 5 comments