The Beijing Paralympics 2008 is about to start, with the opening ceremony being shown on ABC1 from 9:50 pm this Saturday night.

Coverage will appear on ABC1, and a program guide for the first day is available on the ABC TV guide.

Read on for more information on our local paralympians…

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Cafe Andiamo - Great food and coffee. Pity the staff aren't.

Cafe Andiamo, along Degraves Lane, is one of the more popular coffee and meal spots in Melbourne. It’s a personal favourite of mine, having spent many cold winters and hot summers there with my fiancee and dog. It’s a warm, fuzzy relationship built up over four years. I love it.

Of course, I write this to warn people never to go there again. Unless barbed racial remarks done with unprofessional subtlety is what they are eager for.

Yesterday arvo, my fiancee, her sister and me made our way to Andiamo after running some errands. It was lunch time and naturally, packed to the rafters. We spotted an empty table lane side and sat down. Really, the three of us were in good spirits. Laughing, teasing, gesticulating madly while telling each other a story.

It became clear we weren’t going to be served quickly, so I made my way to the counter to grab some menus. I’m familiar with what they serve, but I felt like an All Day Brekky and wanted to know if they served it during lunch time (alas, they don’t serve it between 12-2pm).

We took several minutes to decide, and my fiancee’s sister decided to call for the staff’s attention. My back was facing the counter, so while mucking around with the girls I flapped the menus around like a lightsaber. Mostly to get the staff’s attention too, but also because I can.

A longtime staff (I won’t mention race, coz it’ll be really obvious) came over. I greeted him. His response?

“You don’t have to wave the menus as I gave you the menus so I’ll know when to come over. This is not Chinatown.” Read more

I remember it as clear as day. It was December 1996 when Starbucks opened her flagship stall opposite Liat Towers along busy Orchard Road in Singapore. I was 17 years old then, straight out of high school and heavily influenced by the Star-Spangled Banner and everything Hollywood. Prior to Starbucks, the only coffee I knew was the straight black variety roasted from beans. Sugar or condensed milk could be added to it for flavor enhancements, and it cost about $0.70 for a cuppa. When Starbucks opened, young Singaporeans were riding on a wave on technological advancements (that was a period when pagers were still cool and mobile phones were rare as they were too expensive) and liked to see and seen. Naturally, Starbucks became a hit.

Myself? I do admit to having - at that time - an overpriced Frappuccino every week or so. Young adults don’t baulk at paying $5-$8 for a coffee. In hindsight, it does seem excessive as one can get a complete meal for $5 in Singapore. “What’s that?” you say, “A cuppa coffee costs more than dinner?!” Damn right. I remember having a conversation about how cool it was to be seen consuming a Starbucks coffee with my dad. He’s old school and subscribes to the old Asian ethos of working hard and saving every penny, and doesn’t quite understand the excesses of life. Naturally our Starbucks conversation ended before you could say ‘That’s not carrot cake!’**

There isn’t a coffee (or cafe) culture in this part of the world; couple that with Singaporeans’ receptiveness to new foreign products (mainly America, which means it’s good) and we have a pseudo-coffee addiction. Of course, who the hell knows what a cafe latte, cappucino, long black or white coffee is? Fucking hell, give me a Venti Oreo Frappuccino with whipped cream please. Or if I’m feeling something warm (seldom though, due to the sickening humid weather), I order a vanilla latte. Singaporeans are happy and contented with that. There’s no need to venture out to experience the real coffee or cafe culture. Afterall, Singaporeans are a pretty sheltered bunch, and as long as it’s from America, it’s good. What’s good for America must be good for Singaporeans.

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On the topic of the western suburbs (cheers squirt), and yours truly being a big western suburb fanboy, I’ve decided to sell something that’s quite close to many westies’ heart. Good ol’ Laverton Market.

The pictures here don’t do it justice, coz it was close to the end of the day, and there was an ominous gloom that threatened rain all day.

I’ve been to my fair share of markets, both within Australia and Asia, so I’ve seen some good ones. And some really bad ones. Laverton Market’s somewhere at the top. Great food (double beef patty, egg, bacon and vege burger for $5! Bargain!) and cheap everything. I bought six tubes of 160g Colgate toothpaste for a princely sum of $15. A computer corner table that’d fetch $300 at Officeworks was purchased for $60. A pair of second hand Asics football boots was going for $15, but I haggled and bought it for $10. Then there’s the ubiquitous jam donuts at $6 for 10. There’s a little bit of trash and treasure in every shop. I think if I tried really hard, I might just find a mint ‘87 Cobra Commander going for cheap.

Laverton Market is located at 8-18 Leakes Road, Laverton. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 7am - 4pm

Theconundrumm got it right. This is the grave of Walter Lindrum located in the Melbourne General Cemetery. Just a couple minutes away is the memorial for Elvis Presley which gets a lot of visits on the anniversary of his death every year.

Walter or Wally Lindrum was one of the greatest billiards players in the world and holds 57 world records to his name. People who have not heard of him may recognise the name as a hotel that is part of the south facing skyline of Melbourne. The Hotel Lindrum, opened a few years ago, used to house the Lindrum’s Billiard Centre. Today, it is a boutique hotel but there is much memorabilia as well as one of the original restored billiards table.

One of the coolest things about Lindrum’s grave is that there are always gold coins placed on the sides. A true sign of respect for one of the greatest billiards players in the world.

Links:

Wikipedia: Walter Lindrum

Hotel Lindrum

Picture by Thomask

Today, I had tea at The Coffee Club (250, Chapel St, Prahran). I ordered a Caesar Salad, and was totally blown away by the fact that there were anchovies, a poached egg and some lemon pepper calamari. Totally impressive, for about $15. I used to think Degraves St. was the best place to get this, but clearly, The Coffee Club has trumped it.

Beer? There’s quite a bit, but most are bottled (like my Leffe Blonde). I should have probably tried the amazing range of coffees available (including ice-blended ones), maybe next time.

Service? They mention its full table service, but its definitely under-staffed. Sitting outside, it was almost impossible to get the attention of the waiter. A friend had a pizza, which was a base, with lots of topping - impressive, if a little different.

Will I be going back? Definitely. They bring a unique twist to the food served. Service can be improved, but maybe I should try it during lunch or dinner.

I am back! (Imagine me saying this in a pitchy, sing-song sorta way.)

Yes, I am finally on Melburnian soil, and now that my internet has been set up (thank God), I get to write once again. Re-entry into Melbourne was good, in case anyone wondered. Sometimes I wish I could get featured on Border Security… okay, no, I take that back.

It is Week 0 for most colleges and some universities. The fun and games are hilarious to watch, and I snigger and giggle at the ridiculous things the freshies are made to do. Cheer mid-street. Lie flat on the floor in the middle of QV. Dance on a table-top. Seriously - all traces of one’s dignity goes down the gutter.

I have never attended Orientation programmes myself. I am, however, participating as a buddy in Melbourne University’s Amazing Race this weekend. I hope it does not involve me wearing a luminous green/yellow/orange vest, running about the CBD.

Anyone has weirder experiences from Orientation camps? Or, alternatively, tell us if you have seen freshies do anything far too weird this week. Links to photographs will earn extra brownie (literally) points from me… once I find myself a convection oven (silly apartment now comes only with a microwave).

So, I have obviously been absent for a long while as I was getting knocked flat by the seemingly never-ending onslaught of essays. Nonetheless, I am back, and though it might just be pure loony coincidence, but I have got a photograph nearly just as similar to the one Neil just posted.



I must explain this: A good mate of mine took us flying (seriously!) last Tuesday to the woop woop township of Echuca, VIC, right up there at the border kissing the ass of Moama, NSW. Echuca is a nice little place for a roadtrip to if you’re into the habit of border-hopping, but of course that misses the point - flying was the really awesome part of the deal here.

If you ever land yourself an opportunity like this one… Do not hesitate. Jump on it.

There is something about Melbourne I genuinely love: The possibility of smililng at any random stranger and receiving a smile in return.

It is this romantic notion of friendliness that truly captivates me, and the idea of how it encapsulates the social being in three seconds of expressed goodness lends me belief in the innate niceness of people. It is as if to say: Sure, your day may be crummy; but here comes a smile to cheer you up.

Admittedly, my friends think I am weird. I smile at the person in queue beside me, attempt to talk to the chap who shares my table at dinner, and am constantly trying to be friendly with cashiers at the supermarket. Smiling is after all, so easy, and I walk about seemingly with a smile plastered and an eagerness to share it.

Dear reader, try doing it yourself, and pray tell how it goes.

Note: The author is considered a freak back where he is from.

Every once in a while when I attempt to Google something with “Melbourne” as part of the search phrase, I get results listing Melbourne, Florida. I have come to ignore this obvious copycat city but I gave in and decided to check out this Melbourne impostor.

Place	Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne, Florida
Town Hall
Area	8,831 km2	91.9 km2
Population	3,744,373	531,250
Name	Named after a British Prime Minister	Named mistakenly after what locals believed to be the first postmaster’s home city (he was actually from New Zealand)
Famous Melburnians	Steve Irwin, Guy Pierce, Nick Cave	Jim Morrison, Darrell Hammond, Bobby Dall
Why would I go there?	Many reasons, read this blog	Beaches, Spring training for Washington Nationals

Not a bad place but I think I will stay in this Melbourne.

Wikipedia: Melbourne,
Florida

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