Eccentrify

Skanky Russian truckdriver music!

2009-12-02T11:09:29Z

I think I have a spare ticket still for Saturday. We all have to go together, so hook up before the gig somewhere like the lounge. Also going Sunday, but not booking other people tickets for that (except if you Know Who You Are). Come sing about ugly ex-prostitutes with gorgeous arses ... in Russian! I will teach you to say "I'm an alcoholic and a fucking dickhead!", guaranteed to blow your chances of a date with Nice Uzbekistanian Girls!

Home...

2009-11-28T01:32:33Z

We fly in tomorrow. I remembered what I had planned for Wednesday that kept making me think brunch was Wednesday! Wednesday is Night Market - brunch is, of course, Sunday to recover from Unorthodox Russian Christmas on Saturday. Other than that, Monday is DAY OFF TO DO NOTHING, so I'm training with Kat first thing, and then powerlifting in the evening.

Who has a car and wants to come to Brooklyn on Tuesday? I'll get the Man with a Van guys to actually bring a van and carry stuff, but Megan and I could use a lift out there to meet them and to work out what we need to grab.

And being back in Hong Kong for a night has made me realise why SF and NY were vaguely underwhelming in terms of "busy city that never sleeps". Ahuh. I got your Mong Kok right here....

Especially for fizit

2009-11-18T14:23:40Z

De facto welcome home drinks: Vulgargrad are playing at the Toff on Swanston St on December 5/6. With Zulya and the Children of the Underground, who I also want to catch. If you like filthy Russian truckdriver music (and who doesn't!), you should come along. But don't bring any Nice Russian Girls.

[ETA: I have just booked 4 tickets for the Saturday in case they do sell out - I suspect, given my wife's feelings about Leningrad, that 3 of those may be available for anyone who wants to come - email me if you're interested. One of them has fizit's name on....]

Odd ingredients....

2009-11-12T03:48:04Z

Does anyone in Melbourne know where to get Barberries? Googling tells me that there are a few restaurants in Melbourne that use them as ingredients - fresh and dried - so they exist.... I'm guessing I start at the Vic Markets and then try Footscray if that fails, but it'd be nice to shortcut it, before I get desperate enough to doorknock the restaurants and ask them where they get theirs....

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This plan gets better. But only because it cannot get worse.

2009-11-11T06:18:56Z

So, the minor flaw in the "motorbike trek on the Silk Road" plan is that Megan does not currently have a motorbike license. Of course, in most of Central Asia, this is less important than having U.S. Dollars if you get caught, but still. So the plan does include Megan getting her license when we get back to Australia, and us going probably in 2011. But then it occurred to me - the Russians have already "solved" this problem.

Yeah. There is no plan so bad that adding Soviet technology cannot make it worse. I mean better. It's not stupid, it's advanced!!!

Dear Photoshop skilled friends....

2009-11-11T05:27:20Z

Please to be overlaying this map on a map of modern Central Asia, so I can see what all those cities are now. Though I don't think it's strictly to scale, so I think I'm out of luck except where they've kept the name. Samarkand, obviously. Maybe I can extrapolate from there....

[ETA: Turfan is modern Turpan, in XinJiang. You know, where China is oppressing the Uyghur. Merv is modern Mary in Turkmenistan. I think Megan may have a point - if I do do a motorbike trek along the Silk Road, perhaps my support vehicle *should* be a tank....]
[ETA for lilmissnever: "It could be worse. We could be going to Latvia!"]

Dear San Francisco,

2009-11-10T09:02:34Z

Let's do this again some time soon.

Love, jai.
.

New York, New York!

2009-11-09T21:24:41Z

So we're pretty much booked out for shows, but in between we will want to eat and drink. We have been told about the cocktail bar in the telephone booth (though we might need a refresher on the directions), and the Slipper Room, and everyone has a favourite deli just off Broadway. But what do you think we can't miss in NYC? Leah and Kate, I'm looking at you....

Our hotel, if it helps, is on E 51st, between 2nd and 3rd Ave. I have no idea where that is.

You only live once!

2009-11-07T18:50:49Z

I have just spent about a thousand dollars US on tickets for various shows while we're here. Cirkus Cirkor in NY, twice, Fuerta Bruza in NY, Wintuk in NY (yeah yeah, still a fanboy), and Teatro Zinzanni in SF. For which I must buy a shirt with a collar. And possibly some trousers. Still pondering jetting down to LA to see Kooza before we go to NY. Awfully tempting....

Coming to America....

2009-10-30T22:45:53Z

Thus far, San Francisco fails to disappoint. We rocked up to check in to our hotel at about 10.30 last night - it is a gorgeous, fin-de-siecle building on Market street - and the lobby was full of leathermen. Even for 3 blocks from Folsom. Turns out there's a leather conference here this weekend. There is, of course, a downside to that - I am now mortified about the state of my boots, which have not been polished since Istanbul.

Then we went to the Embarcadero/Pier 39/Fisherman's wharf, which is nice, in a touristy kinda way. Very much reminiscent of Melbourne (even going on a tram!) in a way that Macau, for example, is not. On the way, we saw a banana riding a bicycle. It's hard to tell how much of the local color is just SF, and how much is HAlloween, which apparently Americans take very seriously. Tonight, we party. Now, we nap.

SF!

2009-10-29T19:07:10Z

Currently sitting in Vancouver waiting for a flight to Seattle, then connection to SF to get in at about 6 pm SF time, in theory. So SF people, if you want a phone call tomorrow, after we recover, leave your number here - I'll screen comments.

Things I Have Learned in Macau, part the next.

2009-10-27T19:30:25Z

Look, I love my crazy Russians, I do. They're fun, but serious fun. Which suits me fine, I don't do mindless fun so much. But if you really just want to switch off and have a good time? Go hang out with the Brazilians. Those people know how to party. What we *thought* was a fun evening of caiparinhas last year was a mere warm-up this time round - when the stall closed, they gave the bottle of cachasa to Gabriela, who insisted that the sugar and lemon were optional. Oiy, blyat.

Also, love is:
Me: You brought the camera, right?
Rabbit: Ye-es?
Me: Will you take a picture of Gabriela's arse?
Rabbit: Sure! Would you like to ask her to pose for it?

Sadly, this photo does not do justice to said arse. But I'm not sure anything can.

And now, to sleep, and tomorrow, we say goodbye to Macau. And hello to the rest of the world.

Tick, redux.

2009-10-26T07:28:52Z

Today, on my last working day, I did a stitz Without cheating, on a static line. Then I did it again. This pleases me. In fact, it's a very strong feeling of closure and resolution - there is, of course, a part of me that wants to stay, because there's so much more to do and learn here. Being able to do a stitz actually lets me say "See? We are not leaving things unfinished here. We have achieved things, and are moving on to achieve other things elsewhere."

Because it's been, all up, an awesome 2 years. Coming here was one of the best decisions I've ever made. But that doesn't mean staying is a good idea. Part of what made this a good decision was *escaping* being tied to one place. No point doing it again here. There's a world to see, and a whole list of places I will visit before I stop.

Skazhi, pazhalste....

2009-10-25T11:55:08Z

I want a patch made from an image. I'm going to stick this on the back of my greatcoat for a while, because that's probably more sensible than getting a tattoo. Anyone know where to get a patch made in Melbourne? I actually would be happier with texta on white cloth than with "quality" embroidery - any of my artist friends feel like helping out?

Itinerary update!

2009-10-22T07:04:29Z

We fly out of HK on the 29th, into SF on ... the 29th! I love that timezone thing. 6 pm on the 29th, if anyone cares - straight to the hotel, I suspect. Have a hotel booked in SF, checking out on the 8th. We'll fly to NY on the 8th or the 9th, or even the 10th, depending on how we feel, I think. Then we have tickets for Cirkus Cirkor in NY on the 12th and 14th. At the moment, I think we'll fly to Montreal on the 17th of November - I wanted a weekend, but there's a hard limit at the end in Seattle, and I'd like time in Seattle. So then to Seattle on the 20th, and out on the morning of the 26th.

tl,dr:
SF: 29 Oct - 9 Nov
NY: 9 - 17 Nov
Montreal: 17 - 20 Oct
Seattle: 20 - 26 Nov.

Then a Friday night in Hong Kong (Temple St crab!), and then home on the 29th. Home. Home!

And then, as Jess says, a few days to sleep.

[ETA: "So what do you have planned while you're in the US?" "Trapeze classes in SF, Cirkus Cirkor in NY, trapeze classes in Seattle." "... Oookay.". Also, trapeze classes tentatively for Canberra in January. Don't *ask* about the list of things I have to do in Melbourne.]

Non Sequiturs....

2009-10-21T07:09:50Z

I thought this in Australia, too, it's a remarkably pervasive stupidity:
"Huh. I'm slightly nervous having a bunch of strange guys in my house. I hope nothing goes missing."
Other than the 22 boxes of stuff I'm letting them walk out the door with, of course. Which contain pretty much everything of value I own, except my passport and credit card.

Seriously, brain, wtf?

Things I Have Learned in Macau.

2009-10-21T06:50:32Z

If you are moving, and have 22 or so boxes, a couple of cabinets, a king size bed, a whole apartment of STUFF you have somehow accumulated in 2 years, you really want a small army of old wizened Chinese guys to come and make it disappear, including wrapping the shelves and bed and stuff. But for *real* customer service, you want them to have a Filipino boss.

I am going to miss the Filipinos. They make terrible coffee, but everything else they do brilliantly, with a smile, and I can't get them not to call me Sir. I cannot imagine what their country must have been through to push them to the point of actual armed rebellion.

[ETA: I am ignorant! Wikipedia describes the events of February 1986 as "A peaceful civilian-military uprising". So you can't even get them to revolt against a despot without being nice about it. They probably said "Excuse me, Sir, do you mind if we have a new president now, if that's ok?"]

Я хочу изучает....

2009-10-17T17:14:45Z

I can't believe I'm seriously contemplating paying $1,600 to study Russian at UniMelb for a semester next year. It is cheaper than a semester in Kiev, though, and as my wife points out "It's in Melbourne. Not Kiev.". Though I think a semester in Kiev would be awesome, if I survived.

I want to go back to Uni, I think. I'm too late for next year - and not certain enough to commit anyway - but soon. The trouble is, I want to do everything. Double major in theatre production and engineering, with an extra major in Russian language. Sounds good. But that's 4 years of my life ....

Advise me, oh interwebs. I think blowing a few grand on a couple of semesters of Russian is not a bad plan, to start with. Train trapeze as well, work where and when I can .... there are worse plans. It means not going to Russian with Corteo, but then Corteo will come to Australia!

Plateau.

2009-10-13T04:37:50Z

I dunno. I'm working harder and getting stronger, but I guess the easy work is done. My lats are more prominent in person, though, I swear.

http://glasshouse.eccentrify.com/solitaire/jai/buff.html

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headdesk

2009-10-01T05:17:46Z

You know, Skynet may have its downside, but I say bring it on. Two weeks ago I called the Commonwealth bank to have my billing address changed, and to ask them specifically if I needed a new credit card sent to me *here in China* before November, because my current card expires "11/09" and I needed to use it *while I was on holiday in the U.S. during November*. Nono, they said, you can use it until the end of November, enjoy your trip!.

This morning, they placed a temporary hold on my credit card, due to a suspicious purchase. Said purchase being ... 2 return tickets to the U.S.

Of course, the plane ticket transaction had already gone through, but the hold prevented me purchasing Amanda Palmer's "Leeds United" for the princely sum of $1.19.

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I fly, I fly, I fly away from here....

2009-09-30T15:05:59Z

Flights to the U.S. booked. Amusingly, we fly into Seattle, then get a domestic to SF, because it's vastly cheaper to fly in and out of the same city on a return ticket to HK. So our itinerary is Seattle, SF, NY, Montreal, Seattle. It's like a big circle of the northern Americas!

Nu, davai. SF from the 30th (well, evening of the 29th) to about the 10th. Hotel recommendations welcome, couched welcome, dates for a beer welcome.

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Conversations normal people do not have.

2009-09-27T17:53:45Z

Me: Даваи, пиздет!
Rabbit: Are you chastising your iPod in Russian?
Me: No
...
Me: I'm chastising Morgan's game in Russian.
Rabbit: Even better.

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One of us ....

2009-09-26T03:45:51Z

I have thus far resisted buying an iPhone. I tried to fix the free one I was given that suffered water damage in the great afterparty of '08, but the screen digitiser was beyond salvation. But last night, my MP3 player *and* headphones died. So as of this morning, I own a 32GB iPod touch.

It's a nasty tempting pricepoint. The 32GB touch was less than twice the price of the 16GB Nano - twice the storage *plus* wifi makes that much better bang for the buck. The form factor could go either way - I'm thinking it is a little large, but I have a tiny old shuffle for when I need something small to jog with.

So, I hear that "Cluck it" game os pretty popular. What else should I have?

[ETA: Skype on the iPod touch! I knew there was a good reason not to buy the phone....]

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Power is nothing without control.

2009-09-21T16:30:13Z

Today, I discovered the trick to the meathook. Now they are strong and controlled. Today, I did 3 chagalles on each side back to back. Today, I did chagalles with no wraps, just holding the straps. Today, I was not very strong, but I had *technique*. This pleases me.

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Falling in love again....

2009-09-13T14:41:02Z

So when Corteo comes to your town, you should go see it. Butyou should buy a plane ticket to Tokyo for Zed. Seriously. *THAT* is how you make circus.