School me on Australian matters

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As a poor US sod, what am I missing out on? Radio, TV, Movies. Music? School me in Australia.

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:06 (twenty-one years ago)

You rock Orbit :)

God where to start?

Good TV: the first 2 seasons of "The Secret Life of Us" - it got shit after that though sadly. I'm sure everyone loves Neighbours and H&A, I see those shows in a very UK mould of soap, though. We invented Bananas in Pyjamas!

I'm having trouble thinking of stuff heh.

Sean Micallef is a genius comedian - he's worth checking out, he did a show called "the Micallef Pogram". Also, John CLarke and Brian Dawes, responsible for the brill satire of "Frontline" and that one about the Olympics.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Australian television's a bit dire at the moment. Loads of shows are being cancelled all over the place, replaced by dodgy Australian versions of things like Pop Idol and Big Brother.

Australian film is shithouse at the moment too. Music? Honestly I don't know, I've not been keeping up.

That was helpful, wasn't it? Sorry.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

i like the scientists and radio birdman and the saints. i suspect orbit does too? more good australian music pls.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:14 (twenty-one years ago)

i also like "romper stomper" - what other good aus movies are there (sans crowe)?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Mick Molloy is an incredibly funny comedian.

If you're interested Orbit, I can burn you a few of his CD's of stand up and post them to you.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Wonderful Australian authors:

Peter Carey
Tim Winton
Jessica Anderson
Patrick White

... I so wish I was more well read than I am :(

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:15 (twenty-one years ago)

TISM's a fantastic Aus band, but its references are entirely Australian so it might not make sense outside this country. Anything else we've got that's good is New Zealand stuff we claimed as our own because we're arrogant sods.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Heck yeah Kate, CDs/MP3s please :-)

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

What about "He'll never be an old man river" Adam?

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Great Aus films:

Bad Boy Bubby
The Year My Voice Broke
Spotswood
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Mad Max (the original one anyway)

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

It is worth noting Russel Crowe is not actually Australian, btw ;)

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

i love all the mad max movies! but i think of them as american because mel gibson's a twat (and originally from here anyway).

can we all agree that jet sucks tho?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:18 (twenty-one years ago)

wait, what? where's crowe from then?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Orbit, I have a trillion Gmail invites, i'll start one of them up and put them in there for ya.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:18 (twenty-one years ago)

It's quite sad, because in the past Australia had the most incredibly prolific entertainment scenes. I'm sure there's loads of talent out there but it's not getting a look in.

Going through my music collection now, not seeing much...

Oh and The Late Show is probably the pinnacle of Aus television comedy.

What about "He'll never be an old man river" Adam?

Ah yes :)

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:19 (twenty-one years ago)

New Zealand.

xxpost

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:19 (twenty-one years ago)

crowe is from nz?!? whoa, wtf, everybody here thinks he's aussie. sorry guys.

also i like that one movie with michael hutchence (rip). and nick cave is great too.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe we should debunk some myths too...

Such as, an Aussie would never say "Throw a shrimp on the barbie, because we call them prawns", as in, "don't come the raw prawn with me". To be honest, I don't even know properly what that means.

Also, i have never said "g'day" in my life and can count on one hand the amount of Aussies who've said it to me.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Yer, and Gibson's from the US.

If you want to apologise to anyone, apologise to poor New Zealand, who has to put up with Australia claiming all its talent all the time. Poor buggers.

The B Dolls have an album coming out this month, and it sounds very Mavises [was formed by two ex-members]. That could be one to recommend.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

oops, quotation mark in wrong place back up there

xpost

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah and we don't call it 'down under' either. That's a northern hemisphere thing. Also the antipodes is the northern hemisphere.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

there are some good aussie fashion designers. gorman, perks and mini, alpha 60, marshall artist, claude maus. tsubi, i dont like so much, but seems to be doing real well. also, gemma ward is my favorite model. so cute

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

this is no reflection on Americans or you phil, more of a reflection on my fashion un-savvyness, but i've only heard of tsubi out of that list :)

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:25 (twenty-one years ago)

omg, alpha 60 and claude maus are so so so amazing. www.claudemaus.com - the website is so awesome too. gorman is kinda girly. PAM is like streetwear - huge in tokyo. the PAM store is right off chapel street, near that market, ohwhatsitcalled victoria market i think. its by the Owl store, and right around the corner from the FAT store which is where they sell a60, gorman, pam, etc.

also, chiodo in melb is probably my favorite men's designer. except for slimane for dior, of course

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

im supposed to start as the alpha 60 sales rep this season, so tell all your rich american friends about it, plz.

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I live right by Chapel st - went to FAT once, and almost died, everything wa sso expensive! :/

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow phil, you're right. That website is awesome!

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I still can't believe that Eric Bana of Black Hawk Down and The Hulk is known as a COMEDIAN in his home country.

I once got into trouble for making fun of that game show where everyone just sits around and opens suitcases for half an hour. I won't do that again here.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Deal or no deal?

Nah man, you're safe. That show is fucked!

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah yes, Eric Bana came to fame for doing his "Poida" character for years before he did serious film work. In fact I still find it weird seeing him act seriously!

Come on, that suitcases show is STUPID! Make fun all you want ;P I cant even remember what it is called. And surely, as we ususally do, the format was nicked off the UK or Netherlands anyway.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

gah xpost

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

The Necks!!!! one of the worl'd best bands.
Germaine Greer (is she british now?)
Robert Hughes.
Edinburgh (surely just an offshoot of australia by now?)

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

we need to have phil do a thread called "School me on Fashion matters." I don't know anything about that stuff.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah yeah, the Neck are awesome.

The golden circles are awesome too, but nobody outside of my city even knows who they are so they don't really count for this thread I spose.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh jed OTM about Edinburgh... well during comedyfest time anyway ;)

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:42 (twenty-one years ago)

oops, i meant to write The Necks.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:43 (twenty-one years ago)

All my fave Aus bands are split up, I think. Cept TISM.

Falling Joys
the Clouds
(early) Ratcat
(some) Something for Kate
Sidewinder (thats a friends bias tho)
Itch-e and Scratch-e (eh eh? See wot I did there?)
SNOG
No
Birthday Party
Go Betweens
Ups and Downs (looove those guys)
the Moffs
the Church

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:44 (twenty-one years ago)

and i didnt mean to write "the worl'd" :s

xp The Birthday Party, of course!

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I live right by Chapel st - went to FAT once, and almost died, everything wa sso expensive

yeah, i remember it being a little on the pricy side... but not too bad! the kids in melb were so well dressed. i still wear the two shirts i got from genki. and actually, one of the genki ex-shop assistants lives a few blocks from me in nyc, and another one just moved to america to go to school here. im supposed to have drinks with her today but its raining

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:45 (twenty-one years ago)

gawd i love the birthday party. so pissed i sold all those records in a weak (poor) moment.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:46 (twenty-one years ago)

So has there been much good Australian music lately?

Where's James when you need him?

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Genki is a great shop Phil! I have the cutest striped longsleeved tee from there.

Yes where is Jim?

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Is that the one you had on in the what do you look like thread Trayce? It were cool!

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

i think all they stock is cute striped longsleeved tees.

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude, Trayce, you are so living in the early nineties.

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I once got into trouble for making fun of that game show where everyone just sits around and opens suitcases for half an hour.

Ahahaha. I can't believe anyone attacked you for saying that. That has to be the single most asinine show I have ever seen.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:55 (twenty-one years ago)

My alledgedly 'hip' younger brother loves that show and tried to get me into it, I said, no deal.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

stence you might like Kim Salmon's new thing, which is in fact called Salmon - 5 guitarists, 2 drummers. It was an intense thing when I saw them last week!

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 03:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Nah the stripey top in my photo is my red and black one from that godawful goth/hair rock shop in chapel st... um... Sugar Jones. The place that sells horrible hipster gear like KISS sparkly tshirts, and tartan bondage skirts even though goth shops been selling that shit for 20 years (at a much lower cost), and they're always playin G&R when I go in there.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey Trayce, I have a question. Corsets and shit are still hip on the goth scene right?

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Ooh two drummers. I like shit like that. Is it like Big Black or something then?

Kate: very much so yeah. Corsets, PVC, fishnet... the only big change has been this kind of awful goth/raver crossover so now a lot of the more doofhead types wear plastic and PVC in pink and blue and shit... but yeah a fine well made corset will *always* be a beloved item of any goth lass. And many goth lads too ;)

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I dont fit into my lovely corset anymore :( Its red satin with chinese dragons embroidered all over it.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:05 (twenty-one years ago)

i thot the scientists were supposed to get back together?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:05 (twenty-one years ago)

my favorite australian publications are: Take 5, That's Life.

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:06 (twenty-one years ago)

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh this may be a good place to ask this. Is there something equivalent to a amazon.com or even a (New Zealand) smokecds.com. I want to order a Love Of Diagrams cds and a few others.

― svend (svend), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:09 (twenty-one years ago)

theyre so funny. my friend just got back from australia and brought me a few weeks worth

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:09 (twenty-one years ago)

they did get back together for a couple of quick reunion tours, I think that's all done and dusted though.

there might be a NEW Radio Birdman album this year! omg who'd have thunk it.

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I can see why you'd like Take 5 in the way we like the Nat Enquirer I guess! It is pretty hilarious.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i like the section where australian women write in about the dumb things their hubbies have done.

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, actually all the womens mags here do that! "Mere Male" and that kind of thing. Hee hee look how stupid hubby is, he thinks lightbulbs change themselves!

I read them at my mums for a laff. They photoshop all the pics of royals and Kylie and whatnot. Really obviously. Its always "a pal" who tells the goss. Load of made up hilarity.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:14 (twenty-one years ago)

My computer just died, so i didn't get to follow up what I was going on about Trayce.

I've started making corsets, Victorian style things but classy you know, with decent trimmings and shit not just plain. Planning to sell them to all the goth shops as they only use a small amount of material, therefore cheap to make but with huge profits.

So yeah, i'm just checking the market is still there.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Just be sure you use strong boning and make them very well made/sturdy - a lot of the women I know into corsets are extremely fussy about how theyre made (some make their own).

Check out Vicious Venus, they're based in the city:

http://www.viciousvenus.com/

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:23 (twenty-one years ago)

a few Australian online music shops:
http://www.78records.com.au/
http://chaos.com/
http://www.hmv.com.au/

(I haven't actually tried buying anything from that HMV one by the way)

also, while I'm posting crap:
http://www.citadel-records.com/mailorder/768.html
http://www.halfacow.com.au/

― Poppy (poppy), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought this mad stiffening that they use for the fronts of baseball caps and the most rigid boning i could find. I think the best corsets are the ones with the most rigid front panel you can get.

xxxpost

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Phwor.

http://www.viciousvenus.com/images/Products/Genevieve.jpg

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Thank you for the list of music stores, I appreciate it.

― svend (svend), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Pretty awesome stuff on that site.

I'm in charge of embroidery and beading while my business partner is doing the sewing. She's a professional dress maker, so I trust her to do a good job finishing and stuff.

xpost

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

78s is my local record shop where i love one of the sales persons! it's about 2 minutes from my office. in fact i might have to go there right now.

also i love gorman jeans.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I went to 78s when I was in Perth. I was impressed, it was a great store.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:48 (twenty-one years ago)

there is an older dude who works there who is truly lovely, he burned a selection of a range of 2004 releases and gave it to me just before xmas, it has awesome songs on it. apparently he does it every now and again for regulars. that's the kind of service i LOVE! also all the staff there are very nice and don't make me feel stupid when i don't know stuff.

i've heard their online service is tops too.

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:51 (twenty-one years ago)

also on the topic of newer aussie music (that i love anyway). i went to see 78 saab on saturday night, and i thought they were rather good. but some fairly current perth acts i also like and immediately come to mind include:

the panda band
the panics
halogen
the bank holidays
new rules for boats
the honeyriders
the hampdens
red jezebel

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:57 (twenty-one years ago)

also i forgot showbag!!

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 04:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Well if you go there tell them I'm the one who order a Moodist's dvd and Love Of Diagrams cd :).

― svend (svend), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:03 (twenty-one years ago)

hehe i'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear it.

i saw the love of diagrams ep on the new release rack last week actually. do you like it?

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah I downloaded Love_Of_Diagrams-We_Got_Communication and I like it enough to buy it. The Moodists I have no idea if I'll like it, I was too young the first time around, but want to see it anyways and can't find it in San Francisco. I bought their compilation from a few years ago and like a lot of it.

― svend (svend), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:10 (twenty-one years ago)

god it's such a small world

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 05:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Genki is too expensive for me :-(

Melbourne is pretty fashionable yeah. Travelling has kinda confirmed this for me actually: all the really hip places remind me of Melbourne!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 10:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I love the laneways in the city, like Degraves st... makes me think I'm in Paris or Rome or something.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:02 (twenty-one years ago)

The other thing I´ve realised about Melbourne is how self-conscious and protective it is about its European-ness. Much more so than London! It´s like, we´re afraid that if we don´t strenuously avoid Starbucks and religiously attend Degraves and the Block Arcade we´ll wake up to find ourselves in some hideous combination of Brisbane and Dallas.

Berlin is the place which has reminded me most of home actually: there´s a similar interior design obsession.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh Tim you nailed it very well!

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes!

Germaine Greer has said white Australian culture is characterised by its fear of, and hostility towards, the country itself. We pretend we're somewhere else.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

On the other hand, Greer is a bit of a loon these days. Her notion of an aboriginal republic in which all Australians are initiated into an aboriginal tribe is pretty off the wall.

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, true. However it's only socially unrealistic, not ecologically unrealistic.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought that was more of a deliberate and insightful piece of provocation than a serious working model for social engineering.

Re Melbourne's europeanness, it's what makes Tony Abbot's complaint that we're anti-British seem really odd (in line with everything else about him). Australia loves the UK! The UK is not just the Queen!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Re Greer, yes it was no doubt more a piece of provocation rather than a serious working model but is at its heart a rather bizarre noble savage romanticising of aborigines, and an even more bizarre notion that white Australians can be released of their guilt by appropriating that 'otherness'.

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 11:50 (twenty-one years ago)

That Love of Diagrams EP is fantastic. Other favourites of mine right now include Oh! Belgium, Colditz Glider, The Sand Pebbles (live), and the Sun Blindness

― any Phil, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 12:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought Greer's point could be simplified and freed of its noble savage leanings to a single obvious point: we can't really live here unless we have a grasp of the ecology of this country. Which we don't.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Well in a sense we do, thats why we (mostly) all live on the coast!

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

(x post) Erm why "can't" you live there. You have and you will. Living on the coasts is rational, not a failure of some kind.

― paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, clinging to the coast, battling the harsh Australian summer, drinking heavily, celebrating Xmas, wearing Aerogarde etc.

Something else occurred to me last night after I logged out - the idea of white Australians being absorbed into aboriginal culture is not so far fetched if we think about Australia over a long time scale - say, twenty or thirty thousand years. The longer the time scale, the less far-fetched it seems. After all, what's the alternative, eclologically speaking? There doesn't appear to be an alternative.

This idea of white Australian culture disappearing into aboriginal culture actually reminds me of The Mills Sisters version of 'Waltzing Matilda' - have you heard it? For an anglo Australian it's a bit of a headfuck, because it kidnaps the song, in effect, and revives it in a dreamtime setting, with clapstick, island harmonies, pidgin English, and that groove thing that was always present in the original but never quite teased out. I am quite certain that The Mills Sisters are making the same argument as Greer, but in musical form. Even if you disagree, have a listen to it if you can, it's fackin beeeuuutiful.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:26 (twenty-one years ago)

so what are the reputations of the different aussie cities? you've said melbourne is trendy and somewhat european (are all aussie ilxors from melbourne except gem?). presumably canberra is a boring government town. more?

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Sydney is brash and loud and obsessed with money and real estate. No talented bands ever came from Sydney (I'm giving the STEREOTYPE, ok??).

Adelaide is weird, straight laced, the only non-convict colony and the serial killer capital of the world. People die in bizarre ways there all the time. Stephen King once said it was the most frightening place he had ever been. My ex wife is from there and I concur.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm from Brisbane.

We have a reputation for being backward and far far far too small. Apparently Brisbane could be compared to say....San Diego.

Theres nothing much to do here. Young people want to move away and older people want to move here.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Brisbanites are easygoing and drink very heavily. They are the closest thing to the image the rest of the world has of Australians. Apart from Darwinites.

― thee music mole, Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

They are the closest thing to the image the rest of the world has of Australians

...and this is a bad thing Col, a very bad thing.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Perth is a nice place to grow up and (presumably) a nice place to die, but not an awful lot of good for anything in between.

Most people move away in their early 20's and come back to raise a family (if they come back at all, that is).

― Mil (Mil), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 23:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Canberra is more or less a boring govt town - except its actually a city of close to half a million people nowadays - to be honest I am still fond of it though, because asthetically it is a very pleasing place. It was designed from the start, has beautifully harmonised road layouts, buildings and infrastructure. LOTS of parkland. Gorgeous im autumn.

Can be very boring for the person who prefers nightlife, bands, clubs, that sort of thing. Very serene and comfortable and suchlike for families though.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 23:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Walter Burley Griffin is tha shit man!

― kate/papa november (papa november), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 00:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Aye... Canberra has this strange cohesive feel, architecturally, I've always liked a lot. Lots of very modernist buildings, and a lot of deco as well (like the Hyatt building).

http://www.artdecoworld.com/Australian%20War%20Memorial%2026a%20-%20medium%20-%2017122000.gif
(War Memorial)

http://www.ozeanienreisen.de/hyattcanberra.jpg

(Hyatt)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 00:10 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.flourish.org/upsidedownmap/mcarthur.jpg

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 03:09 (twenty-one years ago)

AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOGS ARE COOL.

Australian Shepherds aren't from Australia.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 03:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Adelaide is weird, straight laced, the only non-convict colony

So how heavily does that whole convict history weigh in Australian identity? I mean, I think that's one of those things that most Americans know but don't really think about much. But from assorted Aussie things I've read, seen or heard, it seems like it comes up a fair bit. (Also, do you hate it when people from other countries say Aussie?)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 06:35 (twenty-one years ago)

(mind you, most Americans don't even think much about our own migratory histories much -- coastal cities aside, you get the sense that most of us think our ancestors grew out of the Nebraska soil and promptly set about building subdivisions and shopping malls)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 06:37 (twenty-one years ago)

someone told me that canberra has the most porn shoppes per capita than any other city in australia. i wonder if thats true

― phil-two (phil-two), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Sydney is brash and loud and obsessed with money and real estate

This is a fairly reasonable generalisation. It's so fucking expensive to live in Emeral City.

No talented bands ever came from Sydney (I'm giving the STEREOTYPE, ok??)

You certainly are. I grant you we don't have Psuedo Echo,a nd that Brisvegas punches well above it's weight. But ... Radio Birdman, INXS, Church, Died Pretty, Hermitude, Midnight Oil.

― mentalist (mentalist), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:12 (twenty-one years ago)

someone told me that canberra has the most porn shoppes per capita than any other city in australia. i wonder if thats true

yeah it probably is, because they have different (i.e. more lenient) laws about the sale of pornography in the ACT.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah its not that there's porn shops on the street - Melb and Syd have a way bigger porn/hooker thing going on as I'm sure you've seen - but Canb's laws mean they can sell and distribute XXX stuff legally so a lot of warehouses exist in this industrial suburb called Fyshwick. Hence all the porn jokes. Well the fact its full of politicians helps that too I think ;)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:20 (twenty-one years ago)

so looking at it 'per capita' is probably a bit misleading seeing as they'd be suppyling a wider consumer base than just the residents of canberra

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:28 (twenty-one years ago)

someone told me that canberra has the most porn shoppes per capita than any other city in australia. i wonder if thats true

of course it's true, it's the capitol.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 07:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Porn in Canberra is a bit like duty free, i thought. The irony of course is that the stricter laws in other states aren't really enforced as far as I know, so it's not like the same stuff wouldn't be readily available even at a large chain. But I've heard that for Sydneysiders driving to Canberra for this purpose remains a grand tradition, maybe a bit like people from Los Angeles going to Las Vegas to gamble?

"Well the fact its full of politicians helps that too I think ;)"

I always tend to think that the laws in Canberra reflect what the majority of people in politics actually think about the world when they're not trying to appeal to their electorate fanbase. Hence it being a strong Labour area!

"So how heavily does that whole convict history weigh in Australian identity?"

I think as an issue it's a bit of a red herring. A lot of other related issues weigh more heavily on our identity I think: the fiction of Terra Nullius, our peaceful drift out of UK colony status (cf. War of Independence) etc. Adelaide is I think much more influenced by its role as a foothold in the new world for the German aristocracy than the fact that it wasn't a penal settlement. I don't mind Adelaide actually, it's very pretty and all the clubs, bars and cafes are on one street in the middle of the city - convenient!

I love Canberra though: what a beautiful city. I think if I lived though I'd commute regularly to Sydney to go out.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 09:47 (twenty-one years ago)

ten months pass...

Deal or no deal?
Nah man, you're safe. That show is fucked!

-- kate/papa november (kat...), February 14th, 2005 9:39 PM. (papa november)

I can't believe that they're really going to import this to the U.S.

"Deal or No Deal", tonight at seven on NBC.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

right, but theyre ruining it but having a seemingly straight host and the banker, instead of being an idea of a person, is a scary booming voiceover. lame. and the chicks should be dressed like robert palmer girls.

― sunny successor (katharine), Monday, 19 December 2005 20:38 (twenty years ago)

"Deal or No Deal"

Oh, God, it's *Australia's* fault? Is it all group hugs and positive vibes and shit with you as well? I have become weirdly addicted to it over the last week or so, against my better judgement.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 19 December 2005 21:42 (twenty years ago)

http://www.apco.com.au/images/APCO_holden%20stubbie%20holder.jpg

YOUR TINNIE GOES IN HERE

― Sasha (sgh), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 09:57 (twenty years ago)

http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/apricot_australia/imgs/5/f/5f152e65.jpg

TINNIE

― Sasha (sgh), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 10:33 (twenty years ago)

CORRECTION

YOUR TINNIE GOES IN HERE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1500000/images/_1504878_boon150.jpg

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

Hmm. I didn't hear about this at all:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17503879%255E28957,00.html

― Sasha (sgh), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 13:02 (twenty years ago)

I TRIED TO ORDER ONE OF THOSE TODAY AND THEY'VE FUCKING WELL SOLD OUT OF THEM.

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

$5 would have been a small price to pay for such a rofftacular device.

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

You have to buy VB to get one of those?

Fuck that. I'd rather drink sewage, as all non-bogans can agree.

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

my cunning plan was to use the neighbour's carton, therefore circumventing the need to actually drink any of it.

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8485/ozbrothers9mu.jpg

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/01/28/paul_hogan_narrowweb__200x240.jpg

― sunny successor (katharine), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

http://www.rednumbat.com.au/truedat/ozzie.gif

― Sasha (sgh), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 01:07 (twenty years ago)

Oh my God, what have they done to 'Deal Or No Deal' - watching it now on NBC. I like the banker as an omnipresent evil computer, rather than a shadowy figure.

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 01:30 (twenty years ago)

Hey is Chiodo a chick, in Melbourne? I think I know her!

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 01:39 (twenty years ago)

http://about-australia-shop.com/images/products/Arnotts_Tim_Tams_Double_Coat_3051.jpg

― dar1a g (daria g), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:21 (twenty years ago)

DO they still make the chilli choc timtams? I never got round to trying any. I'll be pissed off if they dont exist anymore.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:29 (twenty years ago)

they've still been around in the last couple of months, but things change quickly round here

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:30 (twenty years ago)

Like Melbourne weather. You should see my view right now, a big bloody storm is rolling in.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:31 (twenty years ago)

i think we share a similar view

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:32 (twenty years ago)

I'm meant to read that more than one way, aren't I?

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:36 (twenty years ago)

haha no! tis very stormy lookin' out there

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:36 (twenty years ago)

DO they still make the chilli choc timtams? I never got round to trying any. I'll be pissed off if they dont exist anymore.
-- Trayce

I did. They were, disappointingly, not very hot at all.

― moley (moley), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:38 (twenty years ago)

I'm not sure that was the point tho! I think the chili is meant to add some strength to the dark choc.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:40 (twenty years ago)

Much like one would add cooking choc to a chili con carne (well, so reckons Ian Parmenter)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 02:41 (twenty years ago)

Well I found I was rally struggling to detect any chili taste at all - I could've gone a few shades deeper into the red, to say the least. I do think that my buds are a little blasted though, through years of chili abuse.

― ratty (moley), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:02 (twenty years ago)

ok pls explain bogans? aussie ile i love you btw (esp trayce), you are my next favourite after london ile and glasgow ile.

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:14 (twenty years ago)

Aw gosh thanks!

Bogans roughly = chavs or white trash... but not really. In essence, but there are cultural differences I think.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:25 (twenty years ago)

i'm trying to think how, but chavs and bogans are somehow not the same. Anyone?

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:26 (twenty years ago)

female chavs probably don't have the same fondness for buying their clothes at surfshops. they might wear the same liquor promo tshirts with tracky pants though (jim beam/jacks styles)

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:29 (twenty years ago)

Bogans are more into heavy metal than chavs...?

― ratratratty (ratratratty), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

eh no seriously trayce. you roxor innit. i have often thought bah if i lived in same town as you i would be constantly bashin on yr door with a bottle of sth in one hand (and er yeah ok prob a bottle of sth else in t'other). the fact that you may have changed your locks and got cctv in reaction to this is neither here nor there...

i do have a vague familiarity in my head wrt bogans but my memory started to deteriorate around the same time i started fucking around with it so i could pass exams :( i think someone may have splained bogans to me once (charlie no 4?) but my head is pretty crap since/bc of then and no information stays in it for long. i know abt the pokies and how they are teh devil hisself etc. but hmm bogans...

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

ACKTSHEWELLY this sorta made me think. ppl (brit-def; anyone else-dunno) tend to stick aussies in one very small ballpark. but - bad boy bubby! peter carey! um yeah am bit too drunked to be particularly clear but yeh, is there someone else i shoud be reading? fwiw i totally heart peter carey, er more than almost anyone alive today. him an david mitchell.

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:53 (twenty years ago)

bogans are probably much more likely to own a hotted up fully sik monaro than a chav too. i think chavs' preferred mode of transport is the back seat of the bus isn't it...

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:55 (twenty years ago)

um above i am talkin Literature wiv a big L an Film wiv a big Eff. you get the deal.

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:57 (twenty years ago)

you might want to have a read of patrick white emsk, he's pretty good. and tim winton! i love tim winton very very much. also andrew mcgahan's praise. and john birmingham for teh funnies.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 03:57 (twenty years ago)

i dunno i think um chavs prob have their own cars as soon as they're legally allowed to drive. teh chavs do that mad thing where they get lights on the bottom of the car so they shine blue on the road. oooh look at you, you made the road go blue.

um i think i am goin to bed.

gem patrick white? his name is teh familiar.

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:01 (twenty years ago)

all of those are authors whose novels are very much about being australian in sort of the same way as peter carey, but perhaps less likely to be historical stories (though patrick white's 'a fringe of leaves' is). also - randolph stow's merrygoround in the sea is an older one. and if you like slightly less big L books, you might have a crack at nevil shute. for young adult books that i love, colin thiele. and classics - miles franklin!

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:02 (twenty years ago)

As well as gem's suggestions, try Christina Stead emsk - she's the creme de la creme mate!

― ratty, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:07 (twenty years ago)

Richard Flanagan's great...also Murray Bail, David Malouf, Helen Garner,Les Murray (poetry)...Christina Stead seconded, she's great.

I don't know chavs but bogans are like rednecks that listen to hairbands + metal & still wear tight jeans.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:16 (twenty years ago)

Yeah I was about to say Murray Bail, hes pretty good, as is Helen Garner, she's very Melbourney.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:26 (twenty years ago)

Ooh also worth reading: Jennifer Government by Max Barry. Set in Melbourne but in Teh Future, so not neccesarily "really aussie", it could be set anywhere, but it is ace. A sort of spec fiction about what if capitalism became The Law, its a riproaring action novel.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

...that would make a smashing film [/montypython]

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

max barry's previous book was good too, i think it was called 'syrup'?

man i haven't read a novel, australian or otherwise, in over three years.

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:31 (twenty years ago)

Yeah I hadnt either so I forced myself to recently: borried some books from Dom, and bought a few. Read "Short History of Nearly Everything" by wotsisface, "Jennifer Govt", and "How Prost can Change yr Life" by that other wossisname.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:34 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah, also Donald Horne - 'Teh Lucky Country'

― ratty, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:39 (twenty years ago)

I'm sure some bogans out there still wear flannel. With a packet of WINNIE BLUES in the breastpocket.

It's starting to rain here in ADL. It better rain.

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:39 (twenty years ago)

Or those trackies with the buttons down the side & a pair of moccies. And let's not forget the chicks: home-dyed hair with natural roots showing through (esp black dye, brown/blond roots), giant parka, midriff top & spray-on jeans. Or just a pile of spangly clothes from Dimmeys, esp camel-toe black nylon pants, and giant platform shoes. Use of hair gel/mousse must be apparent, and eyeliner must be as though rendered in texta.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:45 (twenty years ago)

*shudder* that was alltogether too accurate a picture ;)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:49 (twenty years ago)

Chicks like that rock my world.

― ratty, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:52 (twenty years ago)

also, outside supermarket smoking and pushing a pram

― ratty, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:53 (twenty years ago)

I've seen bogan chicks with home-dyed mullets. I'm still recovering.

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 04:59 (twenty years ago)

I've seen HIPSTERS with homedyed mullets and abovementioned clothes and really, they look like bogans and gah kry8riuwehf8eyr34. Chapel street pisses me off so much sometimes.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 08:06 (twenty years ago)

Still, at least we'll never face anything as awful as The Great Trucker Cap Craze? Right? That shit put me off Rundle Street forever.

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

thanks everyone for all the recommendations! i will get to it quicksmart.

also, god i sounded like such a tosser last night, i should not drunk ile. apologies.

― emsk ( emsk), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

i misread title as 'australian manners', with hilarious consequences.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

Mate, the first rule of manners: bring ya own stubbie holders!

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!, Wednesday, 21 December 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

Question about Australian food: I just read that in AUS, pork can have a gamier flavor than it does in the US because pig farmers leave the males intact, not castrated, and the meat has "boar taint." And this is one of the reasons why pork is way behind lamb, beef and poultry in sales. Is this bullshit or true?

― pleas to Nietzsche (WilliamC), Thursday, 23 June 2016 01:42 (nine years ago)

which part

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 06:13 (nine years ago)

can't say I've heard that one before! but I'm not a pork eater so what would I know. bacon aside I think maybe pork just isn't as popular as lamb and chicken here?

― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Thursday, 23 June 2016 09:31 (nine years ago)

which part
― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 06:13 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The bollocks, obviously.

― Horizontal Superman is invulnerable (aldo), Thursday, 23 June 2016 09:51 (nine years ago)

This was in an article by an American who worked in the Australian pork industry for a few years and included stuff about them trying to bump sales with a "Christmas in July" ad campaign to boost pork sales in the winter, when sales numbers were lowest. It was all unsourced and anecdotal so I was wondering if it was gibberish.

which part

whichever part you care to address

― pleas to Nietzsche (WilliamC), Thursday, 23 June 2016 11:51 (nine years ago)

"boar taint" is not two words in combination that I was expecting to read

― Johnny Cage - 4'33" Fatality (King Boy Pato), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:33 (nine years ago)

"Christmas In July" is a real thing for slightly desperate motel/pubs that have a fireplace of some sort but that's about it

― Johnny Cage - 4'33" Fatality (King Boy Pato), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:34 (nine years ago)

More a thing done by hotels in the mountains, where it actually gets cold and might even snow a little bit, but otherwise yes. It's definitely predicated on the seasons here not matching up with pop culture representations of Christmas (and has only recently afaik adopted the name of the Sturges film, as opposed to being called Midwinter Celebration or Yule In June or w/e), and not introduced by or ever associated with a pork campaign. That wouldn't even make sense, as pork is not connected to Christmas at all. Roast turkey, yes. Fruit mince pies, yes. A leg of ham, perhaps. A slab of tinnies in an old non-wheelie bin full of ice while you knock the stumps about in the back yard, of course. But pork? Nah.

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:44 (nine years ago)

My understanding was that pork has been considered fattier and thus less desirable than the other major meats. I personally love pork so more for me. Never heard of boar taint. I hate lamb and don't eat it if I can avoid it.

Christmas in July is lame, like you need a lame excuse to eat roast meat. Just shovel it all into my face, thanks.

― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:47 (nine years ago)

Turns out that boar taint is enough of a real thing that there's a Wikipedia article on boar taint, and Australia actually takes several measures more than the US to reduce or avoid boar taint. So the real question is: why is pork so much more popular than poultry or beef over there?

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:50 (nine years ago)

QGP, edwardo and I discussed this in the pub tonight, and concurred that the only pork-based advertising campaign we could remember was the '90s classic "Get Some Pork On Your Fork."

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:59 (nine years ago)

which was obviously a roaring success, inasmuch as it led to me fucking Ed's mum all those times.

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 23 June 2016 14:00 (nine years ago)

This article's audience is 12 to 18 year olds, so the writer knows he could say any damn thing and not be called on it.

― pleas to Nietzsche (WilliamC), Thursday, 23 June 2016 14:08 (nine years ago)

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