the cave clan is a small group of dedicated explorers of uninhabited architecture, primarily the storm water drain system under melbourne. they have been around since 1986 and in that time have charted most of melbourne’s accessible drains.
(more…)

No.. this isn’t about the stampede to get up the escalators quickly during peak hour.

Premier Bracks has today announced plans to stage an ‘underground terror drill’. Hmm.

Lets hope those involved in the drill won’t be subjected those dreadful ‘Connex apologises for any inconvenience caused’ messages.

please allow me to induce myself

i’m xero and this is my first post here

i’m a melbourne artist and photographer
my other blogs are here and here
and i have some art up here

i’m interested in the obscure side of melbourne
lesser-known events and places
and even the past

here’s an obscure factoid:
there are 9000 people buried under the queen victoria markets..
(more…)

Only a few days ago Connex Melbourne introduced their ‘Safe Zone’ at all of their premium stations across Melbourne, as Melbournians have seen illistrated by ‘that ad’ on FTA in Melbourne. Personally I think the safe zone concept is good, although I can’t see a point in it, whats a lit area going to do for you? Can you? But if they improve it further it may be ’safer’ but as it stands I don’t like it :( A waste of money which could be spent on better things

But anyhow, I’ll introduce myself - I’m Michael :)

The Melbourne International Film Festival is here again and starts tomorrow!

An event not to be missed, it’ll have 400+ films from 50+ countries over 19 days so there’s sure to be something that entertains, provokes or disassembles reality bit by bit. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow, a kung fu comedy, sounds like fun already.

For more info see the MIFF Website.

a friend from called today to say he just arrived from sydney with 2 boxes of krispy kremes.

delighted by the news, i hurried down to the city to meet up with him. i would do anything for a krispy kreme original glazed doughnut. they just melt in your mouth with every bite.

on my way home on the tram, i was approached by two fellow passengers.

“excuse me…” an asian girl with a japanese accent and a green polka dot box induced sugar-coated daze only a kreme fan would recognise. i decided to spare her the misery of asking the question,

“no, my friend got it for me in sydney”

“oh…” the disappointment was shared. i offered her a doghnut to soothe the soul.

declining my generousity (perhaps in the acknowledgement of how much of a sacrice this would entail), she declared her love for the doughnuts and demounted the tram.

half an hour later, another woman remarked on her way out the tram
“they are nice doughnuts aren’t they?”

“oh yes…” i replied “pity they are not in melbourne yet”

“oh but they are. there’s going to be a shop in chadstone soon”

my eyes glimmered in the new hope, and before i could thank the bearer of good news, she left the tram, the doors sliding shut behind her.

note to self :
* riding trams with boxes of krispy kremes will induce absolute strangers to share their love of the doughnut
* next time, ask for their number or email address ;-P

Last Saturday I went out relatively early (10:30am; that’s early for me, at least on weekends) to, among other things, get my copy of the new Harry Potter book.

I must admit I was expecting more of a “commotion” at the bookstore. Maybe I was just late for the party (the books were released at 9:01am here in Melbourne), maybe I accidentally selected a quieter store; I did see a few people dressed as Dumbledore in front of some stores, and there were people with TV cameras coming out of the Angus and Robertson store on Bourke St. Also, lots of kids were dressed as wizards/witches around Melbourne Central, presumably because of the party at the State Library (or at Borders). But the parties seemed to be over.

I had pre-ordered (and pre-paid) my book from Dymocks some three months ago for $29.95, which turned out to be a decent price: A&R was selling it for $29.99, and Book City for $39.95 (but it was only $22.43 at Big W, and $15 at Borders if you bought $75 worth of books — which I wasn’t going to).

Having read some 150 pages (out of 604) over the weekend, and trying not to give anything away, I can say that this book is already “darker” than the others. The general mood is not happy as it was at the beginning of the other books, and there is a sense of impending doom all around. It is also a little hard to remember that the kids are already 16 years old; they don’t seem to have changed all that much since the first book. Except for the, hmm, “electricity” between Harry and Hermione (were it not a children’s book I’d have called it “sexual tension”).

Of course, I bet lots of fans have already read the whole book and are happily discussing the ending. I’m actively trying to avoid reading anything about the book for precisely that reason…

Good Morning Everyone!
Have a wonderful start to the week! It is still very dark, the air is full of the wintry cold. I am, of course, watching the British Open live on television, channel 9 to be exact.

I have always associated wintry weather to Christmas, snow and carols have always gone together, having lived in the northern hemisphere for several years. It is so strange to walk around Melbourne Central this winter, and not hear the usual holiday music and seeing the trees surrounded by presents. Not even the arrival of the Harry Potter book in Borders was enough to liven the place up.

I must have missed the party, arriving late in the afternoon on Saturday. The wizard in costume stormed around the store, without a smile nor a comment. The one consolation was I had preordered my copy as well as having a coupon to pay just $15 for my Harry Potter book.

I must say too, that Borders has a great marketing strategy going with them. Everytime I buy something, I receive a coupon which entitles me to between 10 to 20 percent off my purchases for the following week. That, really brings me back to the shop to find more books to buy.

So, anyway, have a great week!

The Commonwealth Games are coming up next year.

Anyone want to get involved in the opening or closing ceremonies?

I wonder what crowds would be like for AFL games on during that time. Will there be people going to the Commonwealth Games rather than footy if their team is playing? I think probably not all, but a few will.

I mean, there’s footy every other week right? And the Commonwealth Games, ok that is once every four years, but it won’t be hosted in Melbourne again for quite a long long time, if ever again.

I expect to see our city streets to be quite crowded and busy as always during that time. And many people sampling some of Melbourne’s great Cafes.

Here’s a little history lesson about Melbourne’s Cafe Culture via the Museum of Victoria’s website.

Now this is one funky looking Expresso Machine

If you haven’t followed any of the above few links, you should check it out, and explore the Marvellous Melbourne Virtual Showcase.

everywhere i turn, harry porter stares me in the face. even the telly has caught the fever.

two more sleeps until us mere mortals can get our hands on the book, (except for those lucky forteen who got their hands on the book when a shop put it on the shelves by mistake yesterday) and i can’t wait.

i haven’t pre-ordered a copy. i’m very confident that there would be plenty to go around.

if like me, you are willing to wait it out, do shop around. there are shops that are giving it away for $29.99. (i think myers is one of them)