Friday, February 29, 2008

Getting Infected with Jack


Had one of those crazey nights recently.
A mate of mine put me on the door for this trance/bar mitzvah outfit Infected Mushroom.
This older guy came over and started chatting to us.
It was Jack Thompson one of Australia's great actors- you should see him as the bastard boss in The Assassination of Richard Nixon.
The guy is seventy and out at this gig.
he is really switched on and larger than life.
We shouted at each other for hours.
Infected Mushroom are good although most of it seems to be preprogramed.
It is quite like the stuff I was doing 15 years ago.
Actually the whole thing was a pale imitation of the sort of dance parties they used to have back then.
Which was probably an imitation of the great times they had back in the sixties.
And round and round it goes.
Also have the new Goldfrappe album on high rotation at the moment.
It's light and fluffy but it makes me feel good (and Alison is the bomb.)

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Crazey Plant Lovers

Before
After




As you may have realised I am dedicated to changing the world in any small way I can.
My guide on the side at the moment is Bushcare Bob.
He is an interesting character, a botanist, ranger,shaman and teacher.
Extremely practical as well as quite fruity.
He is a quixotic optimist.
(Quixotic as in Don Quixoti chargin' windmills)
He will be a major character in my upcoming novel- the one I have yet to start.
Bob is a renegade gardener.
He will plant stuff anywhere he sees a space.
Bobs motto is it's easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission.
It's my motto too.
Recently we started an action at the local shops.
It's a sad little zone of empty dusty footpaths and cigarette butts.
The fair number of the shoppers seems down and out.
Little Aussie battlers.
Is the shopping centre like this because of the type of people who are there or are the people like this because it's so ugly?
Any way Saturday we took action.
We arrived with picks and shovels and a trailer load of plants.
At first I felt strange as though I was doing something wrong.
Pretty soon I relaxed.
Old ladies started praising our efforts.
Some people realised we weren't from the council, others just ignored us, other stopped to chat.
Will it survive the Saturday night drunken yobbos?
Or the clumsy feet of single mums and red faced plumbers?
I'm not sure.
So far so good.
You can see the before and after shots above.

Note the orchids in the tree.
Careful though renegade gardeners can strike anytime and any where!