claypots schmaypots

that's right. we went to claypots last week. this establishment has had people raving over it. people in the newspapers, people on the street. people who are friends.

i've been wanting to go because everyone said it was sooooooo good.

well, to my mind, it wasn't.

i'm sorry but there it is. we sat there and indulged them their quirky ordering system. the waiter was nice, and he indulged us our dull-witedness when it came to trying to order for three kids and two adults.

so we finally settled on a claypot which had pipis and fish in it [i describe it like a pudding, the dude said]. we ordered a meze arrangement of about 8 small dishes. and a whole flathead for the table. and three kids meals which were the only good things to appear. as well as the wine. which we had to go and get ourselves from the tavern.

BUT THAT'S OK.

look, i know it's not nice to bag a restaurant. they work very hard and all that. which is why i'm doing this here and not here, the restaurant review group i belong to. because the original point of that site, we do chew our food, was to post about great places to eat, and share those recommendations with others.

let me detail the ways in which claypots was for me a pretty ordinary experience:

1. every bite of fish seemed to have bone in it. and i'm not just talking about the sardines; that i expect. but the stingray, check. the whole flathead, check.

2. can i just say, cajun spices and seafood DO NOT GO TOGETHER. this is my fault for going to a restaurant where these flavours are the specialty

put it this way; seafood = delicate, light. cayenne pepper, paprika, all types of peppers, etc = mouth burny, overwhelming and yuck.

i am not one of those people who are fussy about their food. i love strongly-flavoured, tasty, spicy, hot food but not with fish or crustaceans.

was this my fault? should i have known claypots is cajun? is it all cajun or just what we ordered? am i being unfair?

but mouthsful of bones, followed by large sections of unbearable, AWFUL spices, had me almost gagging.

on a lighter note i was happy to see the spunky dame win the oscar for best actress, also i bought some brown cords today. saw a girl on a bike wearing some yesterday, thought to myself i need some brown cords, and then there they were today, just waiting patiently for me to take them, try them on, and buy them

bliss.

ps. any lawyers out there, tell me if this claypots thing is defamatory. i'll bin it. INC?

what's your excuse, peter?

you know, the more i think about this, the more disgusted i am. look at his t-shirt in that picture

LOOK AT IT.

it says: "what's your excuse?"

now, read these lyrics

power and passion - midnight oil

People,
wasting away
in paradise
Going backward,
once in a while
Moving ahead,
Falling behind
What do you believe,
what do you believe
What do you believe is true
Nothing they say makes a difference this way
Nothing they say will do
Take all the trouble that you can afford
At least you won't have time to be bored
Oh the power and the passion,
Oh the temper of the time
Oh the power and the passion
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line
Sunburnt faces around,
with skin so brown

Smiling zinc cream and crowds,

Sundays the beach never a cloud
Breathing eucalypt,
pushing panel vans
Stuff and munch junk food
Laughing at the truth,
cos Gough was tough til he hit the rough
Uncle sam and john were quite enough
Too much of sunshine too much of sky
It's enough to make you want to cry
Oh the power...I see buildings,
clothing the sky, in paradise
Sydney, nights are warm
Daytime telly, blue rinse dawn
Dad's so bad he lives in the pub,
it's a underarms and football clubs
Flat chat, pine gap,
in every home a big mac
And no one goes outback,
that's that
You take what you get
and get what you please
It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees

so Gough was tough til he hit the rough, peter? what about you? rolling over like that.
when i was younger, amongst all the simon le bons and pretty boy bands, amongst our crushes on the cute one from the clash, or sting or suggs, behind all that, was the constant admiration for midnight oil in general, and peter garrett in particular.
he sang his guts out, he was passionate, he believed and he made you believe too, even if you were just a school girl, then a uni student, then a young worker, more interested in going out and drinking and dancing than politics and the environment.
but he was always there, with those arms spread wide, those massive hands stretched in supplication for people to hear him.
so peter, old pedro, vieux pierre. what gives? do they have you over a barrel? did you have to sign something before joining the labor party, saying you would denounce your old ways, leave it all behind. start anew. sell your fucking soul for a chair in the house of politics. and have to make kissy kissy suck arse to the americans, who you also criticised in your songs.
hey, remember, you even sang a song about us bases in australia, you even mentioned PINE GAP.
have you forgotten? you made it rhyme with 'big mac' (and better punctuation with this one, I had to put in lots of possessive apostrophes in the last lyrics)

US FORCES

US Forces give the nod,
IT'S A SETBACK FOR YOUR COUNTRY  (your country too peter).
Bombs and trenches all in rows,
bombs and threats STILL ASK FOR MORE  (they're still asking, and you're helping them)
Divided world the CIA,
say who control the issue
You leave us with no time to talk,
YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN ASSESSMENT  (guess you have as well, haven't you?)
Sing me songs of no denying,
seems to me too many trying
Waiting for the next big thing
Will you know it when you see it,
HIGH RISK CHILDREN DOGS OF WAR  (did you EVER think in your life someone might say this about you?)
Now market movements call the shots,
business deals in parking lots
Waiting for the meat of tomorrow
i am so disgusted.* this is the man who everyone in the country relied on to stick to his principles, ideals, values.
i am so ashamed and cross i am starting to write like derryn bloddy hinch.
stopping now.
see you garrett. there is no excuse. whatever the trade-off. live on your knees, peter, live on your knees.

 it's enough to make me want to cry.

* 2012 note - I have to say I am not nearly as disgusted with Peter Garret these days. What was that? Young rebellion? I'm not sure but I think he's okay for the moment. Would love to see him get out there and be The Person Who Does A Lot of Serious and Solid Work in a Political Capacity for the Indigenous People of Australia.

friday's whimsical thoughts have become saturday's melting musings

fuck it's hot, isn't it? melbourne has sure pulled a scorcher out of the box this weekend.

so, yesterday i was thinking of lots of things. i'm too hot to go into detail, all right, so you can ask if you want more info. i know, lazy blogger, i've already admitted as much.

1. the owner of ONO 687, a white KIA that was parked outside our house on friday, you are a fucking knob for leaving your poor dog in the car. no, having the driver's window down half a foot doesn't excuse you. where was the water? where was the shade, because you weren't parked in it, idiot. and the roof of a car doesn't count as shade, not when it's 36 degrees out and the inside of the tin box is probably 50+

i hope the cops came when i rang on the advice of the rspca. i hope they did something bad to you, even if it was just a bit of a rough up. i wish i'd been here to see it, but i had to go pick up my kids from school.

2. i went to the chiro yesterday. she thinks i have carpal tunnel. this is not good. i have to try and use my mouse with my left hand for starters. this is pathetic. it's just trying to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time, except i can do that all right. the funny thing is, maybe, that my chiro deep heated it etc, then wrapped it in a bandage. i was feeling it was quite fetching and groovy for some bizarre reason, made me feel like i was wearing a tennis sweat band, until i realised that maybe people would think i'd cut my wrist, and then i started feeling self conscious about it. we went to a school open day for oldest daughter, and being a catholic school, i was thinking they were thinking i was a sinner for trying to cut myself. i was wanting to say, i am stable and i have carpal tunnel, please enrol this child.

3. the kids are cooking dinner. they are up the street with john getting the makings of dinner. we have the following to look forward to:

- dips and turkish bread for entree
- chicken parma (no, elaine and ruby, i had NO INPUT ON THAT DISH AT ALL)
- some sort of mystery dessert. they keep it secret, as a supposed attraction to us, the adults, but what they are really doing is giving themselves license to pile up a plate with absolutely every sweet thing they can find in the house. think about it. these kids are smart.

4. today is our day to water - yes detectives amongst ye, we are indeeed an even-numbered house. we have to water cause we haven't done it for ages. but i want to watch ice age 2 which is the slated entertainment for this evening. conundrum.

5. the bra part of the lingerie mentioned last post was returned to the shop and exchanged for a larger size. let's just say i underestimated my bosoms. you'd think i'd know wouldn't you, but i have lost quite a bit of weight lately in my efforts to be hott bride, and it was a little snug*

6. i keep talking about the oc. i love it. i love seth cohen and am very fond of summer. ryan doesn't really do it for me, he has a sideways thing in his acting which reminds me equally of russell crowe and richard gere and his blink-acting. i also love sandy. very much. although we're up to where he lied about his ex-girlfriend still being alive. his wife is very pissed off.

7. i am really quite deaf these days. it's deteriorated a lot in the last six months. i have to get a check up, don't i? is it a symptom of anything really bad, apart from deafness?

8. the gigi is one hot puppy, poor baby. she lies on the kitchen floor where it's maybe a little cooler.

9. i have to give up some tv. i am not coping with late nights. i wake up in the morning like an old woman with aching bones, and a dry mouth, and then i have to drag myself off to the gym. so can you help me. please vote for which shows i should drop out of the following pool:

- neighbours
- desperate housewives [kind of lost interest in this anyway]
- sisters and brothers
- heroes [think i can give this one a miss, after watching two shows]
- medium [don't tell me to give this one up, i love it]
- lost [hmmm, it's just so hard to watch off the tv. the ads, even fast forwarding through them, distracting]

these are all weekly shows that have to be watched. then there's the oc which we're watching on dvd and deadwood which we're waiting for the new season, also on dvd.

the thing is, i am watching more tv than i ever have in my life. i don't want to. please help me. there's so much else to do.

10. should i have the scottish piper at the ceremony or the reception, just at the beginning when guests are arriving. which is more appropriate?

take care, be nice, and don't leave dogs in cars on hot days. or i will dob you in to the cops. promise.






* read impossibly uncomfortable as well as unflattering.

for this is why i love you

1. you buy me lingerie even though you know i'm at the tail end of my period, and you may not get any tonight.

2. you don't make a fuss about arriving home after work, to see me and my ex-husband drinking italian spumante.

3. you don't make an unfunny joke about being out-italianned by the turk. you graciously left that up to me.

4. you put up with my moods.

5. you put up with my criticism.

6. you still think i have a great arse, even more than three years later.

7. you do still think i have a great arse, don't you?

8. you don't flinch when i tell you that we can't have the pancetta at the wedding cause of our jewish guests. you don't even say but what about all the italians? there'll be 40+ italians and only a handful of jews? - which i would find it hard to argue with. luckily, we found a compromise. i am all about being inclusive.

9. you also don't flinch when i respond thank you when you tell me you love me. (it's my little ryan from the oc joke, geddit?)

10. you don't make a fuss when you see my ex-husband's washing on the line. he's going tomorrow.

at least i didn't iron his shirts

11. you don't hassle me for the strip-tease i promised you oh, about two valentine's ago. i know it's in writing - thank you for being patient.

12. but most of all, you just love me. no matter what.

thank you for that.

lazy blogger

you know i realised yesterday i am being a very lazy blogger. i started looking back at stuff i did in my early days, and saw how much effort i put into posting.

no more.

well, not at the moment anyway. i'm just not feeling it, you know. i've got other stuff on my mind, like seth cohen from the oc and how godamned funny he is. and whether the new series sisters and brothers will be a goer; whether i will persist with desperate housewives, or prison break. how lost starts again next week and that will really be like seeing old friends.

and then i wonder how i will manage to pull off the wedding of the decade in 3 months time.

how i will manage to write something for my next writerly meeting i have with a girlfriend in 2 weeks.

whether i should have a girls only weekend away pre-nuptials or an altogether party with boys as well.

see, how my life is wracked with questions and difficulties?

i wonder what frame of mind i used to be in to write some of my old posts, which just dripped off my fingers. which i will now shamelessly re-publish as a lazy, self-promoting plug.

this was quite a sociologically interesting one.
so, there's some reading for you, if you'd like.

i think that's all. oh yeah, bring david hicks home.

Hicks home etc

david hicks needs to be brought home. i don't care about all the ins and outs, the legalities, the finer points of argument, the this, the that.

it's unjust.
it's inhumane.
it's wrong to keep him there.
here:

what about the geneva convention and human rights? some people excuse the lapse or breaches in human rights and say well, what he did was an act of war and treason, blah de blah. but those standards, that legislation was enacted after war to ensure that barbaric, inhumane behaviour would not happen in times of war.

it's important to read, to know what is going on. i'm glad it's not left the mainstream media; the little i read reassures me that it's still current, still topical, hopefully still in the minds of decent australians.
if we haven't got solid and fair laws, and people to make sure that they are upheld, then what kind of society are we? what kind of humans are we? what separates us from the evil, psychopathic, mindless destroyers who we say we are the enemies of?
have a good weekend. enjoy the sunshine. take off your shoes and give everyone you see lots of hugs. look them right in the eye and tell them you love this or that about them. don't drink too much.

Hicks etc

HICKS

Hicks etc

Hicks etc