Had a good weekend. Took both days off as always despite promises to do some reading one day.

Saturday I mooched around doing some knitting, reading, internetting, I am trying to set up a new blog to write about art, design, architecture etc. I shouldn't really it is a terrible distraction.

Then Mark and I went to a Spanish wine tasting (8 red wines in the afternoon )
They were amazing, the last one was a $173 bottle, mmmm, I finished all of that taste.

Then we dashed off to a gallery opening in Prahran, took bloody forever because apparently Connex has never experienced a rush after a football game. go figure.

The show was great, it was by a Melbourne artist Jon Campbell whose work I love, he made this, which is up in Melbourne somewhere

The work was all about text, only about five pieces in all. Does anyone else have memories of being told in school art classes that text was absolutely not allowed in you art? I do, it was called lazy, as though we were falling back on written description for what should be done in images. I felt the look of the text in the exhibition actually explored the way that text can be so visually different, i.e. t vs t . Or the way a word can encompass a whole set of imagining around an abstract concept.

I drank a glass of champagne and after the tasting that made me feel woozy. Mark was going to a concert but I didn't feel like it so I went out for dinner with the gallery crew. Went to a brilliant pub in the backstreets of Prahran, I had pizza and a lot of Pinot. Then Jarrod kidnapped me and made me go back to his and Tara's to drink a whole bottle of fancy red. We reminisced about Rome (we met there in 2000 same time I met Mark). And then I spent the rest of my weekend money on a taxi home.

Sunday I struggled out of bed at 10 because Mum was coming over at 11 with all her fresh basil so we could make pesto. We made it and it was yummy. Then we went with Mark to a concert, twas lovely, then Mark was going to another but I had tiredness so mum dropped me home. I knitted some more, watched Emma and ate pesto.

I am always lamenting the lack of art I want to see here. There is good stuff, but at the end of the day a room of 18th century paintings verses the palaces and museums full of them in places like Italy, England, the US etc, just doesn't compare. It is understandable in a sense considering when our galleries began. But I am also struck by the lack of good design exhibitions, once again we obviously don't have quite the grounding of other countries, but nonetheless I think there often just is not appreciation for such exhibitions. The upcoming V&A Art Deco travelling exhibit at the NGV will have a lot, but it is a HUGE deal and all the gallery people keep talking about it as though no one has ever seen anything except for a painting in an exhibit before. This is an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in the States, such beautiful things and so inspiring.

I am so unfit. I just rode my bike to the market and any kind of hill absolutely kills me. The only way I cope is by thinking 'toned legs, toned legs, toned legs' as I go. When I got home I just had to sit on the bike for about a minute because my legs were too tired to lift them off the bike.

On the upside I bought yum fresh food, including radicchio. I wanted some cauliflower to make cauliflower and broccoli cannelloni but the cauliflowers were $5 each, which seemed like a lot, maybe they are out of season. Plus I now feel that it will be fine to eat an enormous pizza for dinner and drink red wine.

mmmm italiano shops

Mark's music blog

earlymusicexperience.blogspot.com

Haha I had said stalkee all wrong, this is why the internet is not the answer to everything. He was actually the new curator of contemporary art at the NGV, oops, but he was delightful, he and his wife/partner were charming intellectual americans. His lecture was about this artist called Harrell Fletcher http://www.harrellfletcher.com/# whose work is basically inclusive and as much about others doing things as about him doing things, it was interesting and funny. He has an ongoing project on a website ( www.learningtoloveyoumore.com ) where there are tasks that are set and anyone can do them and send in reports. My favourites so far are the encouraging banners. This is the best, read the words, I loves it.

His partner Martha is a trained baroque opera singer who is now a performance artist whose work includes garden performances. Clearly we need to be friends.

It is too easy to stalk nowadays. I have to go to dinner with a visiting speaker tonight so I googled him and looked at his art (he is an artist) and then facebooked him and he knows one of my London friends. Now I will want to bring it up without saying, 'so I googlestalked you...'

Today I told off a student for using university computers to play games. I really needed a computer to look up a book and they were all busy and I was standing behind her, clearly waiting, she was just sitting there playing the most pointless time wasting games so I told her university computers were not for playing games on. haha I am getting old.

Anyhoo I got my books, lots of exciting stuff about opera, got some marking to do from my supervisor which will be unexciting ugrad essays on sexuality and baroque art (though some will probably be good) but I will get paid moneys for them, hurrah.

Went and found mark in the library (no mean feat really) and took him off for coffee and gossiped about this academic who was demoted by the university for speaking out against the government, bloody Melbourne.

I can't believe the death toll in Burma. An interview with some villagers, only 200-300 survived from a village of over 5000. I have just heard a story that apparently the military junta withheld information about the severity of the storm and didn't issue warnings despite knowing about it up to 48 hours beforehand. I gave some money to the Red Cross, I was going to buy hair dye but it seems so fickle when people are in need.

I can't believe the US has given only $260 000 where Australia has given $3 million. Their spending in Iraq is $12 billion a month.

Yikes, I have been asked to write a chapter for a book for Yale University Press. SCARY but exciting.

Rain rain rain. Pfft, it rained in Italy now it rains in Melbourne. Over it. But yay rain, good for growing farmers.

Lookin at John's pictures of croquet and mint juleps on the lawn of the American Academy does not help

Had an ok-ish day, started a bit slow, had put an internet ban on but then got a phone call asking for a document so that ruined that. So did bits and pieces, started editing wikipedia articles, slapped myself for that bit of procrastination. Had some lunch, did domestic stuff, knitted. Decided to take myself off to work in Journal on Flinders Lane, that was much better, I wrote a lovely flow chart for my chapter and it helped so much, just sitting and thinking without trying to actually edit the words I have or read other things.

Then had a meeting at Animal Orchestra (Mum called it Animal Crackers the other day), so a house white and a bunch of articles to read for our online journal. I have one on early twentieth century french adverts for alcoholic drink, clearly up my alley, and some other one which looks shit called "From Apple to the Photography. Uses and Abuses of the fruit in the visual contemporary historiography.' Pardon?

I finally made my cup cakes. They are pretty and pink,I used a Nigella recipe for the cakes and the magnolia bakery recipe for the icing, with a few tweaks. I have eaten so much icing I feel slightly ill, oops. Had a nice weekend. Saturday I went out to see Mum, Dad and sister, and the dogs. Hamish was very excited to see me again so we ha da long cuddle even though he was disgracefully dusty and shaggy. Had yummy lunch, home made soup, crusty bread and white wine. Then we all went for walk in Warrandyte and the dogs all had a swim. One of my sister's dogs is a great retriever and she gets so excited that as she swims after the ball she lets out little gurgly barks. Had a quiet night, we scraped together all that was left in the cupboard for dinner and then I watched the Mighty Boosh. Sunday I went to the market, and then went to Madame Brussells, was great fun. I didn't drink that much but I had barely eaten so I felt a bit tipsy, plus we got given free drinks. I walked home, did a little dance in front of the Dallas Brooks Hall and then promptly went to sleep for half an hour, woke up and ate a yummy lentil dahl, then tried to watch the cricket but found it too confusing so went to sleep again. I have to go to fancy pantsy dinner tonight at University House, don't really feel like it, but I will probably enjoy it. On that note I should go and work out an outfit.

Gah, I try to be even handed about the conservatives on radio national but they ahve a guest complaining that while regular good people can't have guns, like everywhere the trendoids have got at criminals can get whatever they want. Because they are CRIMINALS you nong. Gah. And because criminals don't obey the laws there is no point having them. Hmm.


But in good news I have broadband. I am going to go for a jog soon.

I was just reading about art deco architecture because there is an exhibition coming to Melbourne soon from the V&A, and in fact art deco is not a style of architecture, it is a style of decoration applied to the exteriors and interiors of buildings. I have started photographing the art deco architecture of Melbourne, in fact there is a lot just in East Melbourne.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1157_art_deco/

I was thinking yesterday that I would like to do an architecture/landscape blog but then I looked and there are so many already. Hmm.

I must finish my paper today and then get onto the thesis.

I have a house inspection today, I hate them, feels like such an invasion of privacy. Usually they just look to make sure you aren't housing druggies or burning the carpet but the girl who came last time, to my old place, commented on how messy my desk was. Um well fuck off I'm not renting the desk from, and it isn't messy, just cluttered. Plus I feel sick and just want to crawl back into bed but instead have been cleaning the shower.

Go Ruddy I do love that his great joke was about homework, clearly it had less to do with his fluent mandarin and more to do with his inherent understanding of student nerdiness. In other Olympic craziness I just heard a reporter seriously ask if 'Human rights should be put above sport", response from member of IOC "not above necessarily, but they are of course important"

Did my first jog yesterday, the first few bits of running I thought 'easy peasy' then it got harder, but it was very doable, it would be so great if I keep up jogging as I have a beautiful park opposite my apartment and I really can't afford to go the gym or even do yoga classes, and the swimming pools are so far away that it is hard to get motivated. Have almost finished writing my scholarship report, and about to do some beading with the glass beads I bought in Rome. I am hoping to go out for a wander later but am also waiting for my broadband modem to be delivered, hurry up dammit, I have podcasts to download

Back now, feeling a bit flat and down, I expected that but it is still tricky. I wrote myself a long list of things to do, both work and fun. And I am about to go for a jog to try and keep fit.

Hey y'all I''m comin home!

Had another good day yesterday, obviously spring had gotten into the archive man cos he let me have lots of extra things. I really like this archive, you often have a little monk sitting next to you. Speaking of monks I saw a truly cute monk yesterday, he could have made it into the calendar, on the train yesterday, tall, tanned, blue eyes. So they do exist. Only problem is the hour and a half lunch break they have and the proximity to the second hand markets which means I found a useful 18th letter and acquired two new vintage dresses and a top. Sat up last night gossiping with various people, trying to ply a young'un with whiskey (well he is only a year younger really but I like to think I am teaching the young the ways of the whiskey world). Woke up this morning with such a sore back, I could not move, took me about two hours to get up and start to relax it, so much for another library day. So instead I am doing my packing and sorting and am about to do some work and then will go off to get some books for mark and a pressie for mum as i missed her birthday. My dresses, am wearing the spotty dress today, the top is a little tight in the bust but in theory once i stop eating carbs and cheese 24/7 they should go down.