Pop-up Bars & Suspended Cars

THERE'S a great new trend in Sydney: 'pop-up bars'. Only open for a period of weeks or sometimes months, they usually appear in out-of-the-way places and can be tricky to find...

Last Friday, I went to the brand-new Seven Metre Bar with a group of friends. After using two mobile map applications to locate the joint, we turned a corner and there it was...whatever it was. Part of the City's 'laneway revitalisation' project, the bar doubles as an outdoor art installation and the first thing you notice is a 318i BMW hanging above the makeshift entrance. Cocktails are the only thing on the menu - $10 if you're happy to drink out of a hot-chip container and $12 if you take the fancy option: a plastic peanut-butter jar. Naturally, I splashed out and went for the jar, which, the bartender informed me, could be refilled for $10 for the remainder of the bar's existence. Next, we made our way over to the only empty table. Okay, not a 'table' so much as a bunch of plastic crates stacked together, with matching chairs.

We only stayed for one drink, but it was fun and I'll probably go back before the place vanishes forever. You can read more about it here: http://barzine.com.au/7m-sydney.html

Stuff

Here's a list of stuff I've been up to since my last blog entry...

September 5: Sat a Private Pilot's License trial exam @ Bankstown Airport.

September 8: Saw a media preview of indie flick "Paper Heart".

September 9: Attended the launch of a new beer called Coopers 62.

September 14: Played George Formby's "On The Wigan Boat Express" at the Balmain Ukulele Klub.

September 17: Went to Melbourne for a work function.

September 18: Returned to Sydney.

September 21: Dentist check-up.

September 22: Saw Chris Isaak @ the State Theatre. Brilliant show.

September 23: Saw a media preview of "Surrogates".

September 25: Saw Lisa Mitchell @ The Metro.

September 27: Did the 60km Sydney Spring Cycle from North Sydney to Olympic Park.

September 30: Saw a media preview of "Dorian Gray".

October 5: Watched Sydney FC play the Central Coast Mariners @ the SFS.

October 10: Watched Australia play The Netherlands in a friendly @ the SFS.

So, there you go - a slice of my life in text format, minus the many hours I'm shackled to a desk at work. Looking back, it appears I've been quite busy, which accounts for my tiredness...and this rather lazy blog entry.

By the way, the photo in my last entry was taken at a lavish party thrown by Paramount Home Entertainment, and I'm pretending to punch an actor dressed as The Comedian from "Watchmen" :)

Kamuke's First Annual (possibly) Caption Contest!

Please leave your caption suggestions in the 'Comments'. Mahalo!

Shanghai Surprise

NI HAO! Here are some photos from my recent trip to Shanghai. Click on the slide show to enlarge the pics...

Day 3

The weather in Shanghai was beautiful yesterday. We went to a fabric market in the morning, where I put in an order for a green silk smoking jacket! I pick it up on Sunday.
For lunch, we headed to Taikang Road Art Centre, a warren of stylish art galleries and cafes, and we ended the day on The Bund, sipping cognac in the Glamour Bar.
Off to Suzhou today, a 2500-year-old canal town about half an hour away on the train. Better get a move on!

CHINA!

Greetings from Shanghai! I'm here for a week, visiting friends and sightseeing. I didn't think my room at the Green Tree Inn had WiFi, but here we are.
I arrived yesterday at 6pm and was met at Pudong airport by my friend Sam. We caught a MagLev (literally 'Magnetic Levitation') train into the city - 301km/h - and then she and her husband Paul kindly took me to dinner at a very stylish little restaurant. We had a 'hotpot', a lovely DIY meal of fresh veggies and dumplings.
Today, we're off to a silk market, where I hope to have a smoking jacket made! It'll go great with the Otard cognac I'm going to buy at the airport on my way home...
Will try to update every day, WiFi permitting.

Good Day, Sir!

LAST Tuesday was a big one for me. The previous Friday, a PR person representing a vitamin company contacted my office and asked if I would like to go for a spin with champion Aussie rally driver Chris Atkinson…in Melbourne. Considering I live in Sydney and had somewhere to be that evening, I was about to turn down the kind offer when I was told the vitamin company would fly me to Melbourne in the morning and get me back to Sydney by 5pm! Game on.

I caught a Virgin Blue flight to Melbourne at 8:15am and was met at the airport by a chauffeur holding a sign with my name on it. Walking to the luxury sedan, I tried to act like this sort of thing happens to me all the time (it really doesn’t) and 20 minutes later I was at the impressive Subaru Centre in Docklands. After watching a presentation by the vitamin company, I hopped in a WRX STI and hit the skid pan with Atkinson. It was fun, but it only lasted about five minutes! After the event, I was given two bags full of vitamins (always handy) and caught a cab into the centre of the city to have a quick look around. After about 45 minutes, I called the chauffeur service and was whisked back to the airport in time for the 3:45pm flight back to Sydney.




The somewhere I had to be that evening was at The Metro to see LA indie artist Jenny Lewis. I’d become familiar with her music only a few weeks before, and I couldn’t believe my luck when I found out she was playing in Sydney. The gig took place on the decrepit set of an MTV show called The Lair, and I loved every second of it. Aside from being pretty cute, Ms Lewis has an incredible voice and I dig her quirky lyrics. If she ever comes to your town, I highly recommend you check her out (LJT – she’ll be in San Diego on April 14: www.jennylewis.com/tour).

Hit For Six

ON FRIDAY, AM, NW and I went to the beautiful Sydney Cricket Ground to watch Australia take on South Africa in a one-day international match. I managed to get us great seats in the shady Brewongle Stand through a MasterCard promotion. We were also presented with a gift bag that included a fancy seat cushion, cheap fan, sunscreen stick, and terribly unfashionable bucket hat that seemed far too small for most people. The game itself was a cracker - plenty of action and intrigue complete with a nail-biting finish that saw South Africa win by three wickets.

Photos...

Hey, Yoda

A FEW weeks ago, AM and I went to the Powerhouse Museum to see the brilliant travelling exhibition "Star Wars": Where Science Meets Imagination.

It had pretty much EVERYTHING, from small conceptual models to life-size props and original costumes. I even got to meet Yoda...sort of. If the exhibition rolls into your town, definitely go and check it out. You won't be disappointed, even if you're not a huge "SW" fan.

Here's a selection of my photos...