The Sifter

Not quite Oriental Bay...

2006-06-23T17:43:00.000+01:00

This 'beach' has been installed in the Truman Brewery just off Brick Lane, surely one of the epicentres of cool in London. Nothing like this was around when I lived in the area 7 years ago - the skanky old corner pub has now been renovated into a swanky bar, and there's a supermarket open as well. And a great cafe that does an all-day (charcoal!) BBQ...

Zefrank

2006-06-20T10:34:00.000+01:00

This is funny: http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/

Outahere

2006-05-23T04:41:00.000+01:00

OK, so most of you know that I'm leaving but for those that didn't know - that's the reason I've been extremely quiet on the posting front lately.

And the fact that my farewell "week" as it's been referred to has been rather large. My poor girlfriend is going to pick me up from Heathrow and drive me straight to the Priory.

I mean, what sort of misguided logic states that it's a good idea to go on a 12-hour binge on a Sunday (just because you don't have to work on the Monday)?

I feel unusual. Luckily my partners in crime are feeling just as bad.

And work farewell is tomorrow night.

Will we never be set free?

Thank you Google

2006-05-13T06:43:00.000+01:00

As Mr Bryson would say, "I have a hangover you could sell to science".

But as I start to feel vaguely human again, my joy of computing has been replenished thanks to Google Desktop Search and their new gadget functionality.

We PC users now get all the fun that MacOS users have had for a while... it's just so damn cool.

I fully recommend everyone downloads it.

Don't buy laptops from crack whores...

2006-05-04T06:36:00.000+01:00

This is a great little tale of some guys buying an Apple laptop that was just far too cheap.

NZ Coffee Review

2006-04-21T01:32:00.000+01:00

You might say that coffee is another hobby of mine (I've got semi-commercial machines at both home and work [Wega Mininova & Faema Compact]) so I was amused to stumble across a site purporting to be the "New Zealand Coffee Review"

It's very Christchurch heavy, but there are a smattering of Wellington reviews. My fav: the dissing of Fuel at the airport by the 'Coffee Monster', who I think should stick to his Robert Harris ;-)

This is ridiculous.

2006-04-18T04:14:00.000+01:00

A guy gets arrested for singing along to the 'wrong' song in a taxi ride to the airport...

Full story at Reuters.

Remind me not to wear my "I have issues" tshirt next time I fly ;-)

Antique cocktail shakers

2006-04-12T02:20:00.000+01:00

A 5-min video courtesy of Google Video, where "Jeanne Benedict shares a little Martini history and then shows 3 vintage cocktail shakers and tells how much she paid for them."

Pure cheese, but the shakers are cool.

What a munter!

2006-04-05T06:29:00.000+01:00

There are sifters, there are soap-dodgers, and then there are munters.

Here's a tale of an ultimate munter - the guy downed an estimated 40,000 ecstacy pills during the world's worst bender.

I thought this was an April Fool's post at first - but the medical journal referred to checks out.

Happiness is...

2006-03-31T01:41:00.000+01:00

"Happiness is finding two olives in your martini when you're hungry".

(Spotted on a blackboard outside Wishbone on The Terrace today).

Kerouac was a Sifter.

2006-03-21T09:35:00.000Z

Reading "Satori in Paris" at the moment, a nice thin tome perfect for wet mornings on the No. 14 bus (which, while I'm at it, is already full by the time it reaches Roseneath. I feel a missive to Stagecoach coming on...)

Anyway, Jack in his 40's hits France to research his surname, and ends up boozing and chasing The Ladies.

Turn the book over and you're confronted with the quote "I am a great natural bed mate and nice guy". I know a few local sifters that could get away with that statement... ;-)

Geek lust, pt 2

2006-03-09T21:44:00.000Z

Check this:

10 Megapixel camera. 3 x optical zoom. Flash.

Satellite TV reception.

In a phone.

Maybe for next year's birthday, when I turn 21 ;-)

Geek timepieces

2006-03-08T20:24:00.000Z

Quite liked some of these - the "top 10" geek watches

(My pic is the Fossil Frank Gehry Watch... but don't everyone race out and get it for my birthday ;-)

Dining Out in Napier

2006-02-28T08:14:00.000Z

So, it seems that whenever I'm in Napier with work I have a bad dining experience.

After a pleasant enough pre-dinner drink down on the waterfront at Ahuriri (spying some of the Black Caps), my colleague and I headed into town into search of a curry house. And chose the wrong one.

I ordered a Goan fish curry, which I should have returned as soon as it arrived. The fish was so tough I could barely cut through it - it was like overcooked chicken!

Anyways, when we left the owner asked if we enjoyed out meal and I said I found the fish a bit tough (I was being kind). Then I asked what sort of fish they used... and if it was fresh. He sheepishly admitted that it was frozen terakihi - I think he knew all along that they were trying to get rid of some old leather on me.

And interestingly enough the West Indian cricketers were eating there too... I guess they won't be moving too quickly on the pitch tomorrow if they also ordered the fish curry ;-)

So... I ask you - where should I be eating next time I'm in Napier?

Wellington 'Eye'

2006-02-20T04:51:00.000Z

So, anyone ridden it yet? Although it's smaller than the average Welly office building (and hence my view is from higher up) it does look amazing when lit up at night.

I feel like a pig shat in my head

2006-02-18T02:53:00.000Z

And on the topic of hangovers, Two Chaps Talking write about it brilliantly (along with most other topics. Cheers to Tom for introducing them to me via his latest Martini post).

Have just re-read the screenplay of 'Withnail and I', where (in the introduction) Bruce Robinson refers to his diary entries from the 60's, most of which start with a description of a hangover. One is referred to as having "biblical proportions". Another lasts 4 days.

What a trooper.

Great British Design

2006-02-17T04:23:00.000Z

[Yes, I know, it's been a while...]

The BBC in conjunction with London's Design Museum are running a poll on the "Greatest British Design".

Kinda interesting as to what made the top 10 (what, no miniskirt? ;-)

Also interesting as to what constitutes the "British" criteria (Concorde = half French, WWW = funded by the Swiss etc)

Spare me the charity

2006-01-18T01:58:00.000Z

Who else is pissed off that you can't move more than 5 metres along The Terrace or Lambton Quay these days without being cornered by a clipboard-wielding charity worker asking if you can spare 'a minute' for WWF/Save The Children/Amnesty/Greenpeace/[insert charity du jour here]?

All valid causes of course, but it should be my choice to approach them to learn more and sign up, not the other way around.

It probably breaks a WCC bylaw anyway (a la busking without a licence)... maybe I should script a letter to the editor and join Tom in print.

Iggy/VHS/Weather/Tom

2006-01-13T00:29:00.000Z

Iggy

There's a large article in today's DomPost about Mr Pop and the fact he doesn't drink, smoke, or take drugs.

So, not any more then Iggy? I mean, have you seen a photo of him? ;-)

Reminds me of my favourite quote from Keef Richards:

"All the time I was a heroin addict, I never once had a cold."

VHS

I found the other day that you can't actually buy content on VHS anymore from any of the high-street entertainment stores. RIP little magnetic tapes with terrible drop-out that would always get caught up in the player's heads.

Weather

Was that Summer?

Tom

I'm trying to figure out how Mr Beard can blog so profusely yet still hold down a job to fund such a cocktail habit?

;-)

Font Porn

2006-01-05T04:42:00.000Z

OK, so I'm not involved in design or a creative job, but I did find the following video really interesting:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=146749

which is the head of Microsoft's typography team talking about the history of computer fonts and how far they've come with the upcoming release of fonts for Windows Vista/Office 12.

It's a well-spent hour learning about the issues they face trying to get fonts looking good on computer screens... and the Scot who heads the team is an interesting speaker.

Silly Season-ed Out

2005-12-19T22:22:00.000Z

I never thought I'd say this... but right now, I don't want to even think about drinking.

Various organs are crying out "Make It Stop".

And it's our staff Christmas party tomorrow.... ;-)

Roll on Summer (like a slot machine)

2005-12-08T07:34:00.000Z

Rome Baby Rome!

2005-12-02T03:17:00.000Z

From London to Rome, and the Stravinskij Bar at the Hotel Russie.

This was pitched in the guidebooks as one of the most upmarket/hip bars in Rome (Hotel bars in Europe sure could teach those in NZ a thing or two ;-)

We arrived looking what we thought would pass for suitable glam and were welcomed in by the maitre d', shunning the offered table for 2 I asked if we could sit at the bar as I wanted to see the workings of the place.

And we weren't disappointed. Some of the nicest complimentary 'bar snacks' I've ever seen (including what appeared to be deep-fried balls of risotto) were presented as we perused the cocktail list.

I decided not to go for their signature 'Martini' (vodka, served with caviar) as I wanted to stick with a Gin-based 'tini. So chose one which consisted of Tanquery (they were going to use Bombay Sapphire but I talked them out if it ;-) poured through a small strainer containing lapsang tea-leaves and a piece of orange zest. This went into the mixing jug which had previously had a vermouth rinse... stirred, and poured. So simple, yet so elegant. The gin picks up a wonderful colour and flavour (almost smokey) from the tea.

C. chose the house variation on the Cosmo, which was also made beautifully and tasted great.

Talking to the bar staff during the night we asked what the assorted "James Bond" plaques on the bar were in aid of. It turns out there's a "Martini Club" that meets at the bar regularly. The club frown on the use of any vermouth at all in their Martini's, preferring the (mainly vodka I'm guessing) neat.

That's not a Martini. That's a glass of spirit waiting to be mixed with something else.

Drinking all over the world - part one.

2005-11-22T23:41:00.000Z

Well, I'm back. I think I'm almost over the jetlag too (not helped by attending the Martinborough Booze Festival - the number of youngsters running around with Tui bottles whilst wearing a tasting glass around their necks.. sheesh! And Kate's right - what were all those silly tarts doing wearing heels? They're vineyards for goodness sakes, not some bar down Courtney Place... :-)

Anyways, I'm intending to post about some of the exquisite cocktails I had on my travels. First up - Loungelover.

Loungelover is the 'sister' bar to the Trois Garcons restaurant in East London (Shoreditch), and is really quite fabulous. The picture above doesn't do it justice, and unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take photos myself while I was there. It's decorated in an incredibly high-camp eclectic style - think chandeliers and stuffed animal heads up high, Louis XIV chairs down low. (Take a look at the Trois Garcons website for a good idea of their style).

The drinks list was impressive, lots of house cocktails arranged into logical groupings. I took a punt on a 'Zatoichi': wasabi, ginger and cucumber shaken with lemon and Polstar cucumber vodka, served straight up in a Martini glass with a slice of cucumber to garnish.

It was great, I'd not considered using wasabi before in a cocktail but all the flavours worked really well together.

I then took the advice of my companion (thanks C. ;-) who suggested one of the house favourites - a sweeter drink (sorry, didn't note the name) that bore more than a tip of the hat to Dick Bradsell's Russian Spring Punch (more on that another time) but with strong hints of vanilla.

This place is well worth a visit - bookings are recommended (when was the last time you booked for a bar!?!) and take plenty of Pounds with you (best not to convert those prices back in Kiwi rubles).

Mystery Bar Number 96

2005-11-21T23:57:00.000Z

No prizes for guessing this one!

;-)

On Tour...

2005-11-03T10:24:00.000Z

... Bad News style. Well, not exactly. In fact, nothing at all like Bad News, there's nothing rock'n'roll about my current jaunt to The Old Country.

Just wanted to check in here briefly to say that I won't be posting much while I'm away as I'm avoiding the 'puters (partly choice, partly availability).

A thought to leave you with: I flew to London on an Air NZ flight (cucumber garnish in the Bloody Mary - nice work!) that was also freighting the All Blacks.

Apart from them treating business class & first class like their own private tour bus (read: stripping off out of tour uniforms into comfortable travelling under-garments), I got to thinking:

"they don't let the Royal Family all travel on the same plane..."

OK, I'll play

2005-10-19T23:02:00.000+01:00

So Kate tagged me.... Here's my 20 things:

1. Amsterdam
2. Bangkok
3. Bordeaux
4. Canberra
5. Denver
6. Dublin
7. Edinburgh
8. Krakow
9. Lille
10. London
11. Los Angeles
12. New York
13. Paris
14. Port Villa
15. Prague
16. San Francisco
17. Singapore
18. Suva
19. Sydney
20. Wellington

Tales of the Kitty.

2005-10-12T05:41:00.000+01:00

OK, so I'm house-sitting for my folks at the moment. Which also involves feeding and watering Sushi.

I got Sushi as a kitten from the SPCA, many, many years ago. When I went on my "O.E" at the late old age of 28, I offloaded her onto my parents (I refer to her as their 'grandchild' ;-)

She is now one fat old mama cat.

I'd forgotten how demanding cats are. I let her sleep inside with me on Monday night as it was so horrible outside... which meant that I had to push her out of the room at around 4 when she decided that an early breakfast was in order. I then got up again at around 6 in order to lock her in the back porch as she was meowing at the bedroom door. When I got up at 7 she was around at the front door, wet and annoyed, so I then had to keep her away from me when I got out of the shower as she wanted to rub her cold, wet fur up against my warm, dry legs.

Then to *my* breakfast. I'd forgotten that I'd trained her as a skilled hunter when she was a kitten. I put down my bowl of muesli for a split second and like a flash she was up onto the table to see what it was/if she'd like some.... seesh!

Visitors to Ma and Pa are always bemused by the fact that she will climb up onto a spare seat at the dining table, and (if you give her a chance) try to claw food off your plate or even off your fork.

I guess she isn't going to win any of those MyPussycatIsCuterThanYours.com battles, but I'd put her up against anyone's cat in the cunning stakes.

Premature ageing device

2005-10-11T00:22:00.000+01:00

Q: When could premature ageing be a good thing?
A: When you're a bottle of wine, naturally!

"Squirrelled away in his chemical engineering laboratory in rural Shizuoka, Hiroshi Tanaka has spent 15 years developing an electrolysis device that simulates, he claims, the effect of ageing in wines. In 15 seconds it can transform the cheapest, youngest plonks into fine old draughts as fruit flavours are enhanced and rough edges are mellowed, he says."

Read the whole story at The Times of London.

I wonder if he could reverse the process for humans to give us back the years that consuming said wine takes away... ;-)

More on those crazy Dolphins

2005-10-07T00:13:00.000+01:00

Now they've been taught how to sing...

"Scientists have taught dolphins to combine both rhythm and vocalisations to produce music, resulting in an extremely high-pitched, short version of the Batman theme song."

http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1473208.htm

I wonder if these are somehow related to the previously mentioned Dolphins?

But you've gotta ask - why the Batman theme?

Ay carumba!

2005-10-03T05:21:00.000+01:00

Dear oh dear. What a liquid weekend.

Friday night - after a day battling the machines again - they won :-( met Stephen and Ms Brown at Tupelo and polished off a couple of 'tinis and a shot of Fernet, not to mention a cleansing ale or five. [BTW, it was from there that I mastered the art of posting from the mobile, as per the previous post]

Then to Wasabi for some solids. And a bottle of sake each, naturally.

Stephen and I then pushed on, to Blondinis of all venues, to drink yet another martini (I think the bartender was rapt that we ordered one, not sure if they get that many ordered up there.) Then Chow for a shot of herradura (cos we really needed it by then) then Motel, then Boulot. Where (allegedly) I became upset that I couldn't hand-jive in the state I was in.

I made a break for home at this point. I loved Stephen's txt the next day: "I was a bit worried about you running off like that, until I realised you were FUCKED."

Saturday was my flatmate's sister's farewell party, that I'm sure the entire latin american community of Wellington attended. Tequila/beer/bbqing/dancing. Ended up sharing my bed with Guy's labrador which he conveniently left behind ;-)

Needless to say today I'm rather shattered today, so looking forward to a lucky laksa.

Geek boy with his toys

2005-09-30T08:26:00.000+01:00

ok, so this is the second attempt to post from the phone whilst supping a martini at a bar. let's see if this works...

Bad Opo!

2005-09-27T02:10:00.000+01:00

Straight from The Onion... er, rather The Guardian:

"Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico."

If it's not the 'gators then it's the dolphins. Only in America :-)

This aint your papa's therapy...

2005-09-23T00:23:00.000+01:00

From this article:

"A new study finds that blogs are more likely to deal with personal matters than politics or current events, and nearly 50% of bloggers see the activity as a form of therapy."

I thought a martini was therapy ;-)

Oh my God, they've killed Leo!

2005-09-22T08:11:00.000+01:00

I'm still in shock from seeing The West Wing on Monday.

They killed off one of their core cast - White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry - in one of the best scripted/acted heart-attacks I've seen on the small box.

And the cliff-hanger ending is... no-one realises he's dead yet.

Roll on next Monday's episode...

[In other good TV news - series 2 of Bodies is about to start in the UK. Hopefully we won't have to wait years for TVNZ to screen it...]

Random photo of the day

2005-09-21T06:49:00.000+01:00

What I liked about this was that it was in the window of the door of a guitar shop...

The Machines Don't Like Me

2005-09-20T07:33:00.000+01:00

Ever had one of those days when nothing goes right?

Yup.

I'll be surprised if Blogger even lets me post this, seeing as how there's computers involved... ;-)

The 5000 year old cocktail

2005-09-15T07:46:00.000+01:00

So, apparently cocktails are not the recent invention we'd been led to believe.

According to some undoubtedly reknowned Italian journal,

"The first cocktail ever was made in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago, using wine, beer, apple juice and honey. "

They called it Grog. We'd probably call it an "Appletini" and charge like a wounded bull for it :-)

Speaking of which, I've just finished a book called Cosmopolitan by Toby Cecchini (Wellington Library has it), the bartender who "re-invented" the drink that we all now know (and some of us love) - The Cosmo.

If you can bear with his writing style - he tries too hard to impress - then it's a good read, especially if you've ever spent any time behind a bar. Or in front of it. Or falling off one... ;-)

I was expecting a quick rip-off of Kitchen Confidential, but Cecchini knows his stuff and has some great stories to tell.

I just wish I'd known about Passerby (his bar) when I was in NYC back in 2000. It wasn't too far from Battery Park City where I was staying.

He gives a couple of recipes of classic drinks at the end of the book, including (naturally) what he makes the Cosmopolitan with:

5 pts lemon vodka
5 pts triple sec or Cointreau
4 pts fresh lime juice
dash or 2 of cranberry juice

I've had fun telling various bartenders around town about the book, and reciting this recipe and getting them to make it. It's a stronger drink than we're used to here for our Cosmos.

Not even ow!

2005-09-14T05:50:00.000+01:00

Tonight marks the welcome return of BroTown to TV3... and also Gordon Ramsey's Hells Kitchens (USA) starts tonight. Looks like Wednesday is going to be my new TV night... about the only other thing I've been watching lately is the excellent Bodies (Thursday nights, TV1). Makes all other medical dramas look like Disney.

Best thing since The West Wing... speaking of which, where is the latest series TVNZ????

Motel bar did a great tribute night (ages ago now) called "BroTel" where they served tall-ies of Lion Brown and cocktails like Raro & vodka. Pure class...

Never judge a book by its cover

2005-09-09T03:15:00.000+01:00

This one came through the electronic mail this morning: Judge based on a person's photo whether they are a computer programmer or a serial killer!

http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/

I got 6/10. The spooky thing is that I work with computer programmers, and have acted the role of a killer on Crimewatch. I thought that would have made me a better judge ;-)

On that bent, I got finger-printed yesterday. Not something that happens everyday, so it was kinda interesting. The second hand was a lot easier than the first as you know what to expect. (We got burgled at work, and I was being printed so they can exclude me from any prints they were able to find at the crime scene...)

Friday. Yay. Roll on beer o'clock.

It seems only right...

2005-09-07T05:29:00.000+01:00

... to link to the "Cheeky tales and sordid stories of the Sister-Sifter...."

Make mine a half-decaf, half-soy latte

2005-09-06T10:59:00.000+01:00

Big congrats go to my pals Tubbs & Matt on the opening of their first coffee kiosk at London's Kensington Olympia station. Look out for the 'Sacred Coffee' kiosk, and also a cafe opening up in Carnaby St before too long.

And if you're in London, then post what you thought of the coffee so I can get an idea ;-)

2005-09-05T07:02:00.000+01:00

This funny thing about this is that I *thought* it said "Alcohol Helps relieve hangovers" which I thought (at the time) was extremely logical.

Bad News On Tour

2005-09-01T21:04:00.000+01:00

OK, just wishing Stephen & crew the best of luck for their Sydney tour this weekend.

I wonder if they will also end up in a gay club at 3am on Sunday/Monday dancing to a Danni Minogue lookalike whilst wondering if anyone actually works in Sydney on a Monday? Probably not... ;-)

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

2005-08-31T10:16:00.000+01:00

Just got this via email and thought it was quite good so I'm posting it in it's entirety. I actually mis-read the title as "Life in the 1950's" and had got through a fair way before realising... ;-)

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to
be. Here are some facts about the 1500's:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in
May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting
to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the
house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons
and men, then the women and finally the children Last of all the babies.
By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, " Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off
the roof.

Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This
posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could
mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet
hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came
into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would
get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on
floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added
more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the
saying a "thresh hold".

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things
to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They
would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in
it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge
in the pot nine days old".

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon ". They
would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and
"chew the fat".

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid
content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead
poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the
next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of
the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper
crust".

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking
along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the
family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they
would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a " wake".

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the
bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these
coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the
inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they
would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the
"graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved
by the bell" or was considered a " dead ringer".

And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring.

2005-08-27T04:44:00.000+01:00

I've stolen this from Stephen to use as my blog image, however cannot for the life of me work out how to link it to my profile directly from bloggerbot/picassa, so am posting it here first...

2005-08-26T00:05:00.000+01:00

I really love this cartoon... not sure where I found it but I guess the web address is the owner of the work.

Fine Dining

2005-08-25T01:45:00.000+01:00

So, I went to the White House for dinner last night... as my little brother works in the kitchen there, the wait-staff took extra special care of us.

Food was great - I had Waikanae Crab Ravioli as a starter followed by Venison on an 'orgy' of mushrooms with a truffle jus. Is this the first time a main has hit $40 in Wellington I wonder?

My companion went for the day's entree special of Scallops on a citrus mash with a beurre blanc, followed by a beef fillet.

Washed down with a Mt Difficulty ("Mt Doom?") Pinot.

All in all, a magic culinary experience.

We got to talking on the way there about the fine dining restaurants that we have known in Wellington during our time, and lamented the passing of Brasserie Flipp and Petit Lyon. Both were world class in this tiny town.

Another winner from Google

2005-08-23T10:23:00.000+01:00

Google Desktop Search Beta 2 is out and it's fantastic. Trust me, just get it.

Tons of new features, including a toolbar search directly inside Outlook - so it's just made Lookout obsolete (as GDS appears faster than Lookout).

Those crazy kids, what will they come up with next?

Is your boss a psychopath?

2005-08-22T01:31:00.000+01:00

Find out by filling in this questionnaire:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/open_boss-quiz.html

And if you ever wanted Google in a 'Swedish Chef' interface:

http://www.google.com/intl/xx-bork/

[I know there's no relation whatsoever between these two links. That's how the interweb works...]

Audiophilia is not a crime.

2005-08-20T06:42:00.000+01:00

I bought some new kit while I was in Christchurch. A Perreaux pre-power combo (SX1 & PMF1050) that will celebrate its 20th birthday in October.

Today I've been having a good listen, and I must say I'm very happy with the purchase (even though I *thought* I was happy with my previous amp, a NAD integrated. That will move to the boudoir with my old Wharfedale sub/sat system.)

I've been going through various albums and it's like I'm listening to them for the first time. Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" & Ben Harper's "Welcome to the Cruel World" really showed them off. It's the bottom end that is really impressive, even at low volume. That and the imagery.

Of course, now I need a better CD player ;-)

I figure if I can find a NZ-made CD player and turntable, then I'll have a completely NZ setup (as I run Monitor Acoustic speakers - now going by the 'Image' name).

The Garden City

2005-08-19T05:08:00.000+01:00

So, I've been stuck in Christchurch all week with work.

Went out for a wee sift last night, and found a rather stylish lounge bar called "Rootes".

It's below another bar/restaurant called "Minx" - - the naming apparently comes from the Hillman Minx, which was made by an outfit called "Rootes". (Here was me thinking that it was some sort of Afrikaan's name...)

These seats were very cool (you were encouraged to sit on them, as as first glance they just looked like light sculptures...). Reminded me of the sort of thing that Mathmos does in the U.K.

And the lighting on the wall changed colour occasionally, not a sound-to-light change but just a randomly timed thing. Very cool, well, very cool in my eyes.

They had a great cocktail list too... I wasn't drinking as I wanted to be super-fresh today, but I could appreciate it just from the page. So, if you're in Christchurch, head to Lichfield St, go downstairs, and see Ritchie behind the bar. He does the best Lemon/Lime/Bitters I've ever seen - he flames the bitters first in a brandy balloon!

I Dream of Microwaves

2005-08-18T06:58:00.000+01:00

... is the title of a book I've just finished, and feel that I should rave about to you, dear reader.

It's the first book from Imad Rahman, a Pakistani-American, and features a protagonist who then appears in multiple short stories. I liked the fact that characters you were introduced to in one story would then appear again subsequently in a completely different plot.

I think what warmed to me to the lead is that he is an erstwhile actor (something I can identify with from a previous life) and he drinks too much (er...).

The opening line from the first story:

"I was trying to get my mind off drinking by pouring hot coffee on my arm when I got a letter out of the blue from an old girl-friend, Eileen."

[This bode well for the rest of the book, the same way I felt sure about 'Sideways' (the novel) when I saw the quotation from Withnail ("We've gone on holiday by mistake") following the dedication.]

Another favourite line (delivered to a hospital operator during a bout of chest pain):

"I'm being attached by my heart."

Recommended especially to anyone who has spent time cracking the boards, either amateur or pro...

Ridiculous.

2005-08-15T02:55:00.000+01:00

I've never seen anything like The Vegan Vixens before.

But you can rest assured they won't be invited to BBQ chez The Sifter.

They bought their tickets...

Sherry? Sherry. Sherry? Sherry. Sherry.

2005-08-14T01:56:00.000+01:00

OK, So I lost the Bloody Mary battle with Stephen when he pulled the sherry trump card. And that did lead me to seek out a bottle of the stuff yesterday, which Guy used to good effect to mix some damned strong B.M.'s.

Preceeded and followed by a Brazilian beer (hey, what the hell, I'd never tried them before and they're in a good-looking bottle. Girl at The Mill said they're similar to a Corona, and they are to a certain extent, I drank them with a lemon wedge.)

And then as we watched Monty attempt to seduce Marwood, it seemed only fitting to take a small glass of Sherry straight-up. Bit dry, but would have gone with oysters rather nicely.

Then made a couple of 51's, and watched The Ladies Man which is quite funny - and surprising that the public library hold it.

Then off for dinner at Boulot, took a gamble on the cabonara and was pleasantly surprised. For such a simple dish, so many places get it wrong. I remember one place in Ponsonby that served up something like a cream soup with pasta floating in it, and tried to call it a cabonara. Sheesh...

Then to the Brewery to witness the AB's beat the Wallabies. Followed by Havana Bar, where I had to endure a guy who looked (and acted) like the brother-in-law from The Castle. I swear he was talking about kick-boxing too.

All roads lead to Red Square...

2005-08-12T02:28:00.000+01:00

Random photo of the day: A cool bar in Camps Bay, Capetown, South Africa. Loved the broken-mirror Absolut wall-art.
BTW, if you haven't all already, go and grab Picasa - a fantastic (free!) photo organising/sharing app owned by Google that you can post directly to your blog from.

First post.

2004-12-17T03:51:00.000Z

Just seeing how this thing works for now... more to come.