As I remain in Australia slowly recovering from surgery, I have started a series of interviews with people who embody inspirational aspects of Australian cultural life. This is the second in the series, and it looks at independent, radical filmmaking as practiced by George Gittoes. George Gittoes (b. Sydney, Australia[…]
Read More »Nicole Skeltys
Composing cool tunes for warm people
From the blog
For the next few ‘episodes, I am handing over my blog to interviews with people who embody inspirational aspects of Australian culture. First up, an interview with Mike Puleston, long-standing organiser in the Victorian branch of the Australian Greens. When I told Mike I wanted to interview him because I[…]
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Your gravestone epitaph competition As I remain in Melbourne recovering from surgery, I find that I miss Pittsburgh quite a lot – in a yearning sort of way. Which is a bit mysterious given I have only really just moved there. But I think I have figured out the major[…]
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Celebrity death drugs Last week, I was walking down Sydney Rd with Tia my good buddy and fellow veteran of the breast cancer wars. We had just finished lunch at the A1 Middle Eastern Food Store and Cafe, which consisted of a heaping plate of falafel, dips and salad –[…]
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Ovary in a jar On Tuesday, I caught the train out to Clayton, an outer Melbourne suburb, comfortably middle-class and economically boosted by the presence of a major public teaching hospital (Monash Medical Center), and other private health providers. One of those providers, Monash Surgical Private Hospital (MSPH), was my[…]
Read More »I’m currently back in Australia for a while. ABC Radio National, Australia’s national public broadcaster has a long standing show on spiritual and religious matters called Encounter. This Sunday (7 February, 7.10 am Australian eastern time, repeated Wednesday 7.00pm), Encounter is doing a special on contemporary spiritual music called ‘Planet[…]
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Location, location, location Books read since leaving Pittsburgh for Melbourne (Australia) a month ago: Niall Ferguson: The Ascent of Money Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking Norman Doige: The Brain That Changes Itself Don Watson: American Journeys Augusten Burroughs: You Better Not Cry Dava Sobel; Longitude All of these are extremely good[…]
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How not to improve on ‘Wicked Game’ (but make it sound more like the kind of track you’d actually desperately record in your bedroom late at night) Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ is one of those perfect songs which simply cannot be ‘improved’ upon. There are many, many tracks that can[…]
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This episode of American Music Innovators features an interview with husband and wife duo Windy and Carl. Hailed as one of the leadling lights of the American space rock and ambient scene, Windy and Carl have released numerous albums, including on the hallowed Kranky label and inspired relationships with music[…]
Read More »Car acting There are currently three major features being shot in Pittsburgh: The Next Three Days, a murder mystery starring Russell Crowe; Love and Other Drugs, a comedy starring Jake Gyllenhall and Anne Hathaway (both of Brokeback Mountain fame); and Unstoppable, an action flick starring Denzel Washington. This means that[…]
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