London loves
Who says you can’t be an anarchist and a capitalist? Visiting Camden markets the other day I met 15-year-old Rory Ballard, who, as you can see by this lovely sample, will let you take a photo with him for the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Music
On a platform: the life of a San Francisco Chronicle columnist
Her picture and by-line appear on the back page of the San Francisco Chronicle every Friday. In cafes around the city, thoughtful San Franciscans will turn the pages with buttery fingers, masticating on their bagels and cream cheese and forming … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Music, San Francisco, Travel, Writing
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On the road with Tin House
For one week each year, two-hundred-and-some word lovers converge on the stunning Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon, for the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop. This year I was one of them. In the romantic setting of red-brick Harry Potter … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Journalism, Music, Portland, Travel, Writing
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Portland: a taster plate
The shot glass I picked up at the airport said Keep Portland Weird. And that lovingly expresses everything that is different about Portland, Oregon. This is a place where a bookstore – Powell’s, the largest in the world – beats … Continue reading
I went to the fair and I bought… an award-winning deep-fried pineapple upside down cake on a stick
The Alameda County Fair was not on my to-do list, but with rides, strange and wonderful deep-fried foods on sticks and a free concert by Weird Al Yankovic, well, who could say no? The County Fair, located somewhere in the … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Life, Music, San Francisco, Travel
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Oh, Vienna
The Blitz club in London is where the 1980s was born. It was where young New Romantics (though you didn’t dare call them that then) in make-up and hairspray outdid each other on the dance floor. Steve Strange of Visage … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Life, Music
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Clare Quinn debut
I love the West End markets – I find so many good things there, and not only spiced coffee, retro clothes or African trinkets. Last time I discovered singer-songwriter Clare Quinn. She was playing an acoustic set by the riverbank, … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Music
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Hot news about the Warmest 100
It’s that time of year again – the chance to see and hear what everyone else is listening to when Triple J counts down its annual Hottest 100. Oh, and something about a national day and Aussie pride and barbecues … Continue reading
Posted in Geeks, Journalism, Music
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OMG. Are we really like this?
So, I came across this video when I was doing research for my You Am I interview the other day. It made me laugh. It made me cringe. It was like looking into one of those distorted mirrors at a … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Music
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Evan + Juliana 4Eva
They’re like the musical equivalent of the sign of Gemini, a yin-yang, his-‘n’-hers, boy-meets-girl phenomenon. They were born the same year; his mum’s a model, hers a fashion critic; he’s outgoing, she’s a little shy. They met at a pizza … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Music
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