Chloe is Awesome

I think Chloe might be heir to the Pink Nails legacy

I love the last page of a magazine

I love the last page of a magazine. Is there a special publishing term for that page? Does anyone know?

Remember when Modern Guru was on the last page in the Good Weekend? It was funnier back then too.

Vanity Fair has the Proust Questionnaire which is always a little pocket of goodness that I forget about every time. VF recently published a collection of them. And Graydon Carter wrote about the Proustian Bargain.

There is also an interactive Proust Questionnaire which I would start and invite you all to answer (we can compare responses) but I can’t get past the first question. Would someone else please get the ball rolling?

Another great last page is the Monthly magazine’s Encounters series written by Shane Maloney. Stories of interactions between two people you may or may not ordinarily think of in the same sentence. This month’s Encounter is between Richard Casey (Australian politician and diplomat) and Mahatma Gandhi.

I think my favourite Encounter was in the third edition of The Monthly in 2006 – between Errol Flynn and Fidel Castro. It could be Maloney’s crime fiction roots that were so suited to that story, but I still remember the humid Cuban setting even though I read it three years ago.

What magzines have you got at your place? What’s on the last page?

 

Old albums on high rotation

I mentioned a couple of months ago how much I was enjoying revisiting Aimee Mann’s music on the Magnolia soundtrack.

Since then, that album and two other albums have dominated my listening because they are soooooo good! (possibly also because they’re at a pitch that doesn’t bother my funny left ear but I’m not musically literate enough to explain these things)

Interestingly, all three albums were on high rotation when I first got them but had been put aside for new music a while ago. Why is there something extra good about rediscovering an album you love. Best thing ever.

Martha Wainwright – self titled

 

Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope

 

The Perfect Job

I found the most amazing job vacancy yesterday. Can I tell you how great a job can be?

1. It requires one particular skill that I’m really good at
2. Not many people like doing this job but I really like it
3. It is with an organisation I know VERY well and in an area I know well
4. It’s in a completely new and completely amazing location
5. In terms of skills and relevant experience there must only be another handful of people in the world who are as well suited to this job as me. I’m sure there are thousands of people who could do the job well but I think I could do it better!

So wish me luck for the application process. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Roos in the bush

A few weeks ago, MJ and I went for a walk in the bush and bumped into a few kangaroos. It’s common to see one or two, but this mob was pretty cool. I didn’t want to get too close because they’re pretty bloody strong so I had to zoom.

 

Save 0 cents

Making up for NaBloPoMo failure by posting twice in one day – a Saturday no less, and in the middle of a moment of socialising.

That reminds me of an ad that I saw on TV the other day. A guy is walking along with two girls and he’s pushing a poker machine everywhere with him. They get to a bar and the others go ahead but he can’t fit his poker machine in the door so he’s stuck outside. Then the tagline: “Is gambling interfering in your social life? Call the gambler’s anonymous hotline”.

“Is NaBloPoMo interfering in your social life?”

Anyway, Lara, Greg and I just went to the shops to buy ingredients for dinner and this sign made me giggle.

If I wasn’t worried about getting caught taking photos I might not have taken such a blurry photo. If you could read it properly you would notice that it’s a special: $9.99 – save 0 cents. But hurry, offer ends 09/11.

Lara and I laughed about the great deal but Greg called us on it, “Hey guys, don’t laugh, it all adds up”.

OK, time to get back to human interaction. Cooking Soto Ayam . yum.

An Education

Dropped the NaBloPoMo ball yesterday. I thought I’d make some time in the evening to post but instead went to see a film which was so nice I just forgot about blogs for a while.

The movie was great by the way. I’m trying to share my favourite song from the soundtrack but running into difficulty on someone else’s computer early on Saturday morning.

Try this: I’m Comin’ Home, Baby – Mel Torme

Writing Thursday’s post on Wednesday night and not even faking it

Oh dear, it’s late again, and technically not Thursday yet – but I’ll schedule this to autopost. Is that allowed in NaBloPoMo?

Since we last met I got on the train to Melbourne and am now getting ready for long-awaited sleep in Jess’s toy room/ad hoc spare bedroom.

Best discovery ever happened today (what good fortune for this blog): First class on the train! The Shepparton-Melbourne train is pretty reliably unpleasant. It’s slow and you always get stuck next to someone who is, objectively speaking, awful. Today I wanted to get some work done (which I did – go me) so I decided to pay the extra for First class. It was sooooo worth it. Arm rests, drink tables, giant windows that aren’t so dirty that you’re grossed out when you look through them. I actually enjoyed the journey.

I’ve come to Melbourne with a purpose. Tomorrow I’m babysitting Jess’s kids while she and Mark go to Oaks Day. Have I ever told you about how much I don’t like the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne? Too much orange fake tan. But helping Jess decide what to wear is actually kind of fun – especially because I don’t have to do any of the dressing up myself.

I took down some notes as Jess told me what I needed to know for the day, but I’ve only got things like:

• Midday – sleep
• 5-5.15pm – dinner
• 7-7.30pm – bed

What else am I supposed to do all day? I suspect Jess would fill in the blanks with something like:

• 9am to 7.30pm  – Try to stop Liam from terrorizing his brothers

Day taken care of! OK, thinking about this makes me realise I need to be asleep ASAP.

Late nights of a newspaper(wo)man

It’s sleepytown here as I wait for MJ to finish the Waranga News for another fortnight. Key members of the usual posse are away so I’ve been roped in to stay the course. I did the layout on a tricky page and it came out looking A.MAZE.ING. I think I’m gifted. I also wrote a schmaltzy letter to the editor to fill up some space. It’s been all hands on deck. But now it’s after 2am and we’re both bored and sleepy. 

Oh boy! I’ve just been called back into action. My task: check the page numbers. It’s a cut throat bizniz, journalism. Toughen up or toddle off to bed…Only the strong survive. 

 

On my fridge

This picture has been on the fridge since I cut it out of the paper a few weeks ago and still makes me giggle every time I look at it.

The accompanying article was about a stupidly expensive pen that had been released to commemorate Gandhi. Some people pointed out that a pen worth more than an average person’s annual salary probably isn’t the best way to honour the Mahatma. I’ll admit that it was on the fridge for about week before I read the article.

*Photo from Reuters