![]() "Happy 50th Birthday Bruce the shark & JAWS". |
June 9thAt 7.00 am I am woken up by a tree crashing down in the distance. Kind of fitting as today is 4 years since the huge storm disaster at Kalorama. A bit of PTSD lingers for all of us up here. Those crazy windy nights but especially the creaking of trees before they split and fall, shaking the earth. Around 40,000 trees came down four years ago and miraculously no one was killed. It led me on a tiny path to help and assist during disasters. The positive I took from it. Our Disaster Community Hub taught me much and so many times I have put it into play when needed, be it floods or the Tonga Tsunami. So I make sure I take some time today to think back, to appreciate what happened and the wonderful community that came together after the disaster. It changed me for the better.June 10thWe really enjoyed all three ALONE (Australia) seasons so decided we'd watch ALONE (UK). 11 Britons dropped into Canada's wilderness and compared to the Aussies we were rather shocked at how incredibly pissweak they are. It's more like a comedy , they are so lame. We spend most of the time laughing. One guy tapped out after only 4 hours. My almost blind mother could do better. LOL.A wallaby jumped out of the fog in front of my car this morning as the sun was rising. Thankfully I was alert, even at this crazy hour, and managed to avoid hitting it. Sad to see so much road kill up here, tourists forget they are driving in a national park. I take home an ew lasagne dish, it's not as good as my old one but it will do the job, it seems thinner. I wonder if it will crack in the oven after a bit of use. So yes lasagne is the go for dinner tonight. It's in the oven while Mark lights tonights fire, another cold one in the hills. June 11thI mail our friend Alison's birthday card, allowing plenty of time for it to arrive as Australian Post is rather hopeless around deliveries."Auto-Photo" (A Life in Portraits) is an exhibit at RMIT Gallery till August 16th. 344 Swanston street, Melbourne. I met Alan Adler who the exhibit is connected with. He was the world's oldest Photo Booth technician. He was loading the machine at Elizabeth street station and showed much younger me how it worked. I think he let me be the test photo on that way all those years ago. My shaggy very black punk hairdo never looked better in the 4 Photo Booth images. June 12thA Wintery morning and this huge gorgeous moon, hanging over Mt Dandenong on a string, I admire it as I drive around in the morning darkness.I buy my petrol which is now fortnightly not weekly, so my fuel bill with the new car has gone from $60+ a week to $46 a fortnight (and that includes a coffee) , so $60 a week to about $20 a week. Mind blowing eh? I hear on the car radio that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys is dead , aged 82. Australian radio plays The Beach Boys all week. I think of my friend Pete the Greek in California who is huge Beach Boys (and Finn) fan and has so many close contacts with the band. I always like how Brian Wilsons all time fave song was The Ronettes "Be My baby", I really like that one too. I head to the Olinda Fish and Chip shop to grab dinner tonight, some fun jokes with the girls who run it. Beach Boys music is playing in the background. June 13thI grab old Paul from the bus stop at 5 Ways. His car is dead and he needs to go to Monbulk to buy food, so I decide to take him , my good deed for the start of the day. It's a good community up here, we help each other out.Interesting article on the ABC News page about recycling older solar panels especially around the copper and silver which are in short supply. The IEA predicts a 30% global shortfall of copper by 2035. In the afternoon I have coffee and cake at Olinda Bakery with Marky. The girls fuss over him which is sweet. We next head to Dr Quirkys Emporium and I get to ask Zultan my question. He answers it and pops out a prediction card for me at the end. Plus my lucky 6 numbers for the week. Thank you mighty Zultan. I use Zultans numbers on a tattslotto ticket and surprisingly win some money. I realise it's Red Symons of Skyhooks birthday today-he turns 76, he really IS living in his seventies. I post something fitting on our Skyhooks Facebook page. June 14thThe Suns breaking through the cloud but no warmth. It was Canberra's chilliest start to Winter in 25 years. Some snow in the Victorian Highlands too.It's my list day. 20 things to do on the list. I manage 18. The 2 I failed- getting photos out of my phone and into my computer 2/ addressing and boxing my Nick Seymour Interview to go in the post for the Crowded House documentary people to use. I'll manage the final two over the next couple of days. All the other tedious little things done. June 15th…and so the circle of hatred continues between Israel and Iran. Innocent people get stuck in the middle of all of this bullshit. So much for Trumps cheap lip service of "No wars while I am President". God he talks out of his fat oranger arse."Bay of Fires" season two started tonight and it sets the pace. Filmed in beautiful Tasmania. Good dark drama, we like it. Good bless the ABC. June 16thI get an email from Nick, asking if I still have the video I filmed of him around his art, which I do. I guess he's the one having to hassle people for bits and pieces. A part of me is kind of happy to (mostly) escape Crowded House world. I'm happy with my big toe in the Crowdies pond but it's past history (mostly).I explore the Ngurra barring Ridgewalk under construction at the 5 Ways look out. It's great- designed pathways, regeneration using native species and what looks like a cool water sculpture being made. It's totally fenced off but I showed an old AAA stage pass and used a VIP entrance and took some photos for my FB page. (Joking..ok I sneaked in). I cut the Red Beasts rego plates in half, photograph them and send them in and get a $44 refund from Vic Roads. Well that was really easy to do. June 17thCharity today so up at sunrise. Rain and fog outside and lots of ice on the road at Mount Dandenong. Black Beauty handles it fine.It seemed a very long day at charity. Kind of plodded along. I grabbed a toy Volkswagen car to repaint for the Number 96 art image for the next Soho Punk TV insert. At a guess in a months time. The little art TV is loved, people keep asking ion they can photograph it. June 18thI drag my bones out of bed for the Food Bank today. Manage a coffee on the way. We make a lot of food boxes for the needy up here, and they are all appreciated. Not sure what radio station we had on but the music was great, a few people commented on the songs. We all kind of grooved as we filled the food boxes.Markys Youtube Wednesday is up. It's Crowded House-Live at The Corner Hotel. This live clip taken from the second night (November 21st 1996). From the debut album "Love You 'Til The Day I Die". The band are so happy in this song, check out Nick Seymour having a laugh. June 19thMy friend Deb C is sick with the flu, a few have it and people come in and it's obvious they are flu-ish too. I try to keep away, wash my hands etc. A customer coughed near me so I bet I get hit with it again.Happy Birthday to our friend Alison. We sent her a card and it arrived on time. Marky chats to her for ages which is nice. Loving more of the ALONE series. We really are mean to some of the more stupid survival people. Mark always says "why would they pick that person, they are hopeless". June 20thCan it really be fifty years today since JAWS the movie was released. It still makes me jump and that theme, almost like a heartbeat. Strangely enough yesterday a lady donated an original Jaws movie poster framed. So that can go up in the Book Cave at the charity. Perfect timing? Spooky.I love the Universal Studios tour when the faux Bruce the shark jumps out at the tour bus. Cool movie. A stunner of a sunny Winters day, those rays and vitamin D, just what I need. Lots of wet Winter days coming up. I read a cool article on ex News man Stan Grant. I loved his quote on the media. "News doesn't like triumph. It feeds on suffering". So very true. June 21stWinter Solstice, shortest day of the year, Well the one with less daylight hours. After lunch I try to get all the outside stuff done. Chop some crappy wood pieces, wash the car and fill up the green bin. All boring but all done.Seventies Countdown tv icon John Paul Young turns 75. All of those Countdown guys are getting old now. He did sign his album "Green" for me (I remember being excited that he called it that after my surname…HA). I hang with Pixie the Beagle at the bakery. My friend rescued her , from being stuck in breeding shed and never having any freedom. Pixies adjusting and loves to go for a run but adores her new owner (and me). She's a lovely doggy. My Mum took a fall, just as my sister was up in the air on a flight to Tasmania. So she's in hospital. Mostly scratches and just checking she didn't hit her head too hard. She will be in rehab for a little while till her strength returns. Old age is shit. I heard Split Enz "Murder" on community radio again, I love hearing it on the car radio, it sounds so unique compared to everything else on radio. Tim Finn doing that Banshee MURDERRRRR call at the start. Each time it gets played the Youtube numbers for it jump a tiny but. It's about to have its 13,000th view so thats really cool. I love how the fans adore the clip, that's really special for us-so thanks everyone. The fire was roaring last night as it dropped towards zero. We watched all the usual shows- Bay of Fires (ABC), Alone (USA) , Number 96 on Brollie streaming, Redfern -which is fantastic, how did we miss this excellent aussie drama? June 22ndUSA moves six B2 bombers to Anderson airbase at Guam. The USA ends up attacking three nuclear sites inside Iran. So I'm guessing their main aim was to destroy the Fordow nuclear bunker with GBU-57 M.O.P. designed to destroy targets deep underground. Iran news says very little damage but you never know what you can believe. Apparently Iran had already moved its critical equipment before hand. The circle of hate continues. It's times like this I am so happy we live in Australia, away from most of this bullshit.While the suns out, Mark and myself decide to go on a hike around the edge of the mountain. It's good way to remove the thoughts of war etc out of your head for a short time. Nature the great healer, or at least the great side tracker. Enjoy this tiny bit of sunshine while we can before the wet weather returns again. It's nice to stand on the edge of the mountain, have a cuddle and look out at the world. Peace! PG |
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