This Week in the Loft

This Week in the Loft

11th January 2007

1. Lightning Strikes Twice

Just when I thought I was looking down the barrel of an uneventful year..... I went to the Corner Hotel website and found just what I needed to see.....

Sat 3rd Feb - Legendary Australian band Blue Ruin return to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their album ‘Flame’ which featured hits – ‘Bad Gin’, ‘What a Helluva Woman’, ‘The Cure’, ‘Calling You Out’ and ‘Kill Some Time’. This show follows their sold out performance early this year when they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Such Sweet Thunder.’ Fans who attended that show will know that the band have lost nothing of their magic. Guests: Kill Devil Hills + Black Pony Express + James McCann and the Dirty Skirts. Doors: 8.30pm

2. Macworld

I must have gotten up with my cranky pants on this morning. I woke early to catch the end of the Macworld keynote speech by Steve Jobs. This is usually where they announce the new products coming up. I was hoping for a newer IMAC or Mac Pro.... but instead it was all about the new iPhone. A combination phone, Ipod and computer.... something I would never use. (Someone will repeat those words to me again in the future).
And Apple TV! A box that acts like a hard drive to play video out onto your TV... and it receives the content wirelessly from your Mac computer. The content you would have downloaded from iTunes or wherever you usually get it from. It starts at $US500. The $5 long lead across my loungeroom floor from my PC currently does the same thing.
So I spent all this time waiting for January the 9th to come along and all I got was disappointment. I suspect I won't be changing over to Mac for sometime now as I'm broke, and I have more immediate expenses to cover. They do look like fun though.

3. Hours of Good TV

You may have seen me lying on the floor of the Loft lately glued to the TV. My obsession with watching a TV series on DVD in marathons is possibily now becoming a problem. I have just watched 72 episodes of the West Wing and I have about 45 to go. I don't even want to do the math on how much time that is. But I'm really into it... this would have to be one of the best series out of America (as lazy eyed Steve Liebman also says). I'm a little annoyed by Rob Lowe's character but I have a feeling he's about to be written out. My favourite character is the press chick.... CJ Craig. She is intelligent, sharp, quick witted and is also a likeable party girl.... everything I'd like to be. The West Wing really is a lot of fun to watch.

4. Suzuki Night Markets

I love the night markets! They are on every Wednesday night through summer at the Queen Vic Markets in the city. Great food, beer and live music... what else could you want on a hot summer's night?

5. P0rn-tastic

I told you I was bored.... over the past week I made a list of the most unusual p0rn sites I've come across on the net. If you have any others to suggest please tag or email me... including your passwords...

1. Big Sausage Pizza

Big points to the guys from BigSausagePizza.com for this great themed site. The pizza man arrives, the door is always opened by an underdressed attractive girl. She goes to get the money. The guy positions himself on a chair with his penis through the middle of the pizza.... obviously cold by now. And then in EVERY case the girl becomes excited by the guy's member through her dinner. You must go and watch the previews videos... the guy's they use seem to be a little mentally challenged.

2. Border Bangers

There's something not quite politically correct about this site. Border Bangers shows American guys pretending to be customs officers... complete with the outfits patrol the US/Mexico border looking for "hot sluts willing to do anything not to get deported". I'm a little shocked by this site. Yes yes... we know they are all actors.... but really... isn't this theme going a bit too far? Check out the preview vids for yourself.

3. His First Huge Cock

This was one of the original "His First" or "Her First" movies. In fact one of the stars of this site has even appeared in the Loft's Private Room. The scene is set as 2 guys with big dicks go out on the street and find someone who will go back to their house with them for sex. Obviously paid well too... But the real acting come out when the pants come down and the 'victim' has to repeatedly say "it's so huge!" It's very funny to watch. His First Huge Cock is worth a watch... maybe just the previews.

4. Insane Cock Brothas

Do you ever remember going to the side show alley freak shows as a kid. I remember they had them in Sydney at the Royal Easter Show. Well those freaks have nothing on the insane cock brothas. I can't tell you much about this site accept their ridiculousy large penis's are real. I've seen the videos! I do wonder if they are really brothers though. They sound very old.... they always wear masks so it's hard to tell. Again, the acting from the women is supreme when the pants come down.

5. Plushie Scwartz

Oh... I love this site! What kind of twisted mind came up with dressing up in a bear outfit and filming sex with other people, both in and out of animal outfits. I was surprised recently to find Corey Koons (pic above) starring with Plushie. I met Corey in New York and had no idea had such a p0rntastic past. Please do check out PlushieSchwartz.com ... the vids are free and twisted!

6. QSolo

I'm not gone on the models on this site.... but I love the ideas... I love the colour.... and I love the photography! These guys really put out some nice product... and in a slightly twisted way too! It's amazing what you can do with all those little colourul things from IKEA in a p0rn shoot. Check out the crazy video previews on QSolo... nice editing!

7. RateMyCock

Really? How much ego stroking do guys need? More than we can possibly get obviously. One of my colleagues from my office gave me this one. I remember this site from years ago and it has obviously stood the test of time. But I noticed on my recent visit people have taken to posting photos of popular "big dick" photos from the web (p0rn stars etc) as themselves. It's such a shame because the theme of the site was a good idea. Only go to RateMyCock if you have some time to kill.

8. Shanes World

Shanes World is the front for a number of College Party type p0rn sites. I love these because it shows a lot of young people being exploited in the name of p0rn. I have no idea how they round all these people up, and then strip them down to make them do all kinds of crazy acts. Alcohol helps I guess. It appears that Shanes World throws in the girls and the rest is up to the cameramen and the party crowd. It's worth a watch just to see the drunk boys.

9. Xtube

And last but not the least.... is Xtube. We've all shared music on the internet... now it's time to share our homemade p0rn! It's Fun, Free and Friendly (where have I heard those words before?) I love the weird shit that I find on this site. Anything.... and I mean ANYTHING goes on Xtube.

Did you enjoy my trawl through my p0rn favourites? Please make sure you drop your favourites in my tag board.

31st December 2006

All over 2006

1. Christmas in Queensland

It's been about 4 years since I last saw my family at Christmas time. So I made sure I got up to the Gold Coast in Queensland this year to see them all. There are 6 kids in my family and it's very rare to get us all at the same place at the same time. My oldest sister was missing this year. But the boys were all together so here's a photo of me with my brothers and my dad.... you can hardly tell us apart right?

Everyone's doing a Best Of 2006 now for the end of the year.... so I thought I would do my own little Best Of 2006.

2. Marc's Visit

Marc came from Toronto in February to visit me. During his visit we went to the Pride March in St Kilda where I was attacked by some guys I knew while I used a port-a-loo. Some friends were lost that day.

3. Ralf and Andi

The boys from Frankfurt came to visit in the last summer. It was great seeing them here in Melbourne. We had a lot of fun going to the night markets, the Laird Hotel, Club...ahhh... 80.... and a tonne of shopping! I remember I was annoyed that Ralf's little camera took better photos then my new Digital SLR. I've learnt how to take photos since then.

4. Commonwealth Games

Melbourne played host to hundreds of athletes and thousands of visitors for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. I was lucky enough to be by the Yarra River for the opening ceremony which surpassed all expectations. Funnily enough when the closing ceremony occurred we were told there would be no show outside of the venue.... so we were in bed when the city again lit up with an amazing fireworks show. The shot above was taken during the opening ceremony.... it was really amazing!

5. The Day Job

I worked my butt off in my new job as Lead SAP SD Support for Australia. Yeah yeah.... I don't know what it means either. But I travelled so much for my job this year that no one really knew where I was anymore. I occasionally dropped into my own office to make sure my plant was still being watered. I love my new team. They are all really kooky.... which makes me fit in really well.

6. Flying High with Greg

Greg and I flew together for the first time. We have both travelled loads of times... but never together. When Greg announced he was coming to Melbourne I timed my return flight from Sydney to go with him. I don't recall much of the flight accept how many times the flight attendant came with food for Greg. Here he is smiling with his mouth open so as not to show too many lines in his face.... I taught him that.

7. Riding with Dart

I renewed my friendship with Dart... or at least I think I did. You may remember Dart from his old webcam/p0rn parody site "Big Hair is Back". I joined him recently at the Calder Park Raceway to get our motorbike riders licence. He has a great bike now that I'm completely jealous about... he has fallen off it once and now wears the gloves. I'm hoping to get mine during this year so I can go out riding too.

8. Round the World in 30 Days

I took another trip around the world.... starting in San Francisco I got o check out the amazing Folsom Street Fair. I know I can be a bit of a freak at times.... but you haven't seen anything till you've been to this fair. I have no idea who this black guy is.... but compare the biceps to mine. I'm getting there....
The trip also took me to New York, Helsinki, Berlin and ended in Bangkok. It was a pretty amazing trip and opened my eyes to other opportunities for me in life.

9. Loft TV Died

Along with my money my host "ResonableHosting" (or better known as Shane from Indianna) closed down suddenly after asking me for hosting fees 1 year in advance. Once the money was gone so was Shane..... and so was Loft TV. I must admit that my streaming of mindless "activities" could have actually broken him. Can you remember Loft TV ? Tyson came in 2005 to set it up for me.

10. Nintendo Released the Wii

And Wii have a problem.... check out the problems this baby has caused.

11. Blogs.. the next conversation stopper

We all started blogs and then stopped speaking to each other?

12. DList Me Again and Again

During the year I became hooked on the profiles site DList after receiving emails from their ringleader for several years. And then I went to New York and met some of the guys.... yes.... in REAL LIFE. Some of them do exist.

13. Little House on the Prairie

At the beginning of the year I bought this little house in Geelong. It was probably one of the biggest decisions I've ever made... I know it was the most expensive thing I've ever bought. It would be fun to actually live in it but it's 1 hour away from Melbourne. So it's rented out right now.

14. Click Click Click

During the year Jake encouraged and taught me to take better photos. With the help of shooting for the Private Room I quickly learnt how to use my new digital SLR and take some amazing photos. The one above is not one of them.

15. Blue Ruin at the Corner Hotel

And the best thing that happened this year.... may favourite Australian indie band Blue Ruin reformed to play one gig at the Corner Hotel late one night in February to celebrate 20 years since the release of their album Such Sweet Thunder. They are the reason I still own a turntable.

23rd December 2006

1. Back at Home

I was lucky enough to spend the past 10 days in Sydney.... and then Wollongong. I grew up in Wollongong and left there 8 years ago to move with my job to Melbourne. I love Melbourne... but I love getting back to Wollongong too. Nothing beats the NSW south coast beaches. Wollongong is a small section of the eastern coast of Australia that is squeezed between the mountains and the sea, that's what makes it so beautiful.
The photo above was taken at Stanwell Park which almost symbolizes the northern most part of Wollongong and the start of the National Park before reaching Sydney. It was an amazing weekend there too.... it's times like these that make me miss living here. Just a few metres from where I am standing here there were about 20 paragliders taking off and flying above us.

2. Christmas Cruise

And here I am enjoying a Christmas lunch with my team on the Sydney Harbour's Captain Cook Cruise. They love it when they get their photo on the Loft. They don't visit the Loft much anymore since it was banned from viewing on our company's network. The cruise was a lot of fun. And even though it rained the whole time the commentary onboard was really interesting. Even though I have spent a lot of time in Sydney I had no idea about some of the famous sites surrounding the harbour. The food and the company was pretty good too. I probably said this last time I mentioned my team.... they are such a great group! I always have a lot of fun with them.

3. I'd Like to Go Faster

I came across this happy little trio on Saturday morning in Wollongong Mall. They were promoting Telstra Bigpond's new fast ISP service. I was mostly interested in the toy racing car track on the ground... and after a little encouragement I got Frank to join me in a quick race. I'm not sure if I was more amused by the ridiculously bleached girl running around the track retrieving lost cars or the muscle boy in the background making the car revving noises with his mouth into a microphone. God I love Wollongong.... and god I hate Telstra!

4. Stonie and Borat

If you have been to see the film Borat... you might have recognised gay p0rn star "Stonie" posing as Borat's son in a photo he shows a dinner party during the movie. Apparently the producers went looking for someone who looked young enough to pass for his son, but still of a legal age and not mind being naked on a video. When later interviewed about his part in the film Stonie mentioned that he got paid more for that photograph than any p0rn film he'd been in. You can find a bleached blond Stonie pretending to be picked up on CruisePatrol.com. For some reason I just know that.

5. Shot of the Week

Maybe you should just ponder this shot for a while....
While Andrew was down I got him to help out with my long awaited poolside shoot on the roof. I was probably the most difficult shoot to set up without raising suspicion amongst my neighbours.... the slugging buckets of water to the roof must have raised some suspicion... especially when it was done at 5am. And then it almost fell in a hole when my model pulled out at the last minute. Thankfully I have a few reliable guys who can fill in. The shoot went well.... and when the mercury hit 41 degrees celcius I was wishing it was me in the swimming pool. The video and photos are now posted in the Private Room

6. Christmas in Suburbia

I see that Australia is importing a lot more Christmas decorations from Asia this year. A friend of mine runs the Christmas Store which works all year long to bring Christmas cheer to Australia at just the right time. While I was in Wollongong on Saturday night we decided to forgo nightclubbing for a tour of the Christmas houses in suburbia (in this case Woonona). And I couldn't help to think of how spooky it was that great lines of cars were parading past houses in the middle of the night to gork at their Christmas lights. There were some that were a lot crazier that this little display. And after thinking about it for some time.... I think I'm actually envious. It is now ten years ago that I wall papered the entire inside of my house in large sheets of foil to make the hanging fairy lights seem more fantastic. I was also taking drugs back then....

7. A New Kitchen

We used to talk about parties and how wasted we got.

Frank has a new kitchen in his house... and I was so amazed by his new cooktop that I had to tell you about it. You can turn it on high... put your hand on it and it won't burn you. But put the metal saucepan on top and it will have the water inside boiling within a minute. He even placed a towel between the cooktop and the saucepan and it still cooked.... and did not burn the towel. How bizzare is that! I think it even cooks quicker than a gas flame! Then we partied and got wasted.

8. Christmas P0rn

Christmas can't go buy without me mentioning the ever growing amount of Christmas p0rn on the internet. I've seen a much larger number of people dressing up in cheap Santa outfits with their chops out this year. It's quite amazing. I'm even more amazed I didn't set up a faux Santa's grotto and stick in a few models in ridiculous poses.

Happy Christmas !

9th December 2006

1. Is it really so strange?

I was said that my beard was actually hiding a moustache.... and for 3 whole days I wore it with pride. Thanks to Jake for the photo.

2. Honk your horns for Ashton!

I watched the Guardian last night after downloading it off the net via our new super slow ADSL connection. I download most movies I would liek to see now because I am finding a reluctance to pay the $15 to see a movie... and leave the house. But this one was actually quite good. The sound didn't actually match the moving lips and at one point the man doing the recording in the cinema had his fingers in front of the camera lense... but I could still tell what was going on. I think you should try to see this.... even if it is just to see the muscle man almost drown and get kicked out of training school at the beginning.... Oops... did I just give away some of the story? Oh... and Ashton in a wet t-shirt...

3. A Little Game for you

Well this is a little twisted...

4. Melbourne's Water Storage

And here's a little scary reality for the good citizens of Melbourne.   A friend sends me each day an email full of interesting facts and figures.   It includes Melbourne's water storage levels... an average of all the reservoirs sitting in Victoria.    Today it is sitting at 41% capacity.    And it goes down 0.1% every 2 days.    The news is that relief from this downward cycle won't come until April 2007.    That means by the 1st of April we will be down to 34% !
Did you also know that Australia has the lowest rainfall of all continents (except Antarctica) and combined with very high rates of evaporation we have very slow running rivers.   And despite this we have one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world.    Every summer since I remember we have had some kind of water usage restrictions.   But now they are permanent and year round restrictions.   I just noticed yesterday that Geelong Water (home of my little house) has introduced Level 4 water restrictions. This is the highest level restriction.   It now starts to get a bit crazy.   If you need to clean your car you can only wash the windows and mirrors.. and with a bucket.
I think most Australians are pretty good now at not wasting water... but more serious changes need to be made now to make sure we can make what we have left sustainable.   Maybe we need to pay more for our water so that the money can be used to spend on technologies to reuse water?     It's a pretty serious and scary issue for us right now.

5. Another natural distaster

This morning I woke to find the city filled with smoke from the bushfires in the countryside around Victoria. It must be terrible for the people who have respiratory problems when something like this happens.... let alone the people who's homes are under threat out in the bush. With the mercury pushing 37 degrees celsius the fire fighters are going to have a huge battle on their hands.

6. Another Shopping Mall?

I was quite surprised today that a new shopping mall had sprung up in the train station car park at Spencer Street Station today (now known as the Southern Cross Station). Why am I so slow lately? I didn't even see anything being built there! Or maybe I did and didn't realise what it was.
Well it's a little bit of suburbia in the middle of Melbourne. The first outlet mall (known as DFO) has moved into the city bringing with it all the labels usually found in the suburban malls. Oh.. these shops do already exist in the city too.... but the stock is meant to be cheaper here. The suburban people love it because their trains pull up right alongside it. I wasn't greatly impressed. I didn't think the stuff was any cheaper then you would find it in their normal stores. I got away with just buying a batman t-shirt.... cause god knows I need more t-shirts.

7. Summer Visitors

And it's always great when friends come to visit.

29th November 2006

1. A Callous Dance from a Homeless Man

Dancing amongst my precious belonging and singing Popeye the Sailor Man... I'm not laughing.

2. Pretty Boys

I complained earlier this year after buying my Canon 350D (Rebel XT) that I was having trouble taking decent looking photos. Now with the help of understanding how the camera works, help from Jake, and skills in photoshop... I am now taking some pretty decent shots. Below are 20 of my favorite shots. All of these were taken during shoots for the Loft's Private Room. A big thank you for everyone who has sat patiently for me... sometimes in very uncomfortable positions.

3. Shortbus

This is a film everyone must try to see before it leaves the very few cinemas it is showing in. Don't be put off by the fact it opens with a boy ejaculating into his own mouth... or all the other sex scenes. It's much more than that. This is film I would probably like to watch one more time. It has a great story about love, relationships and sex. Oh... and it's not all gay gay gay!

4. Another Gay Movie

Strangely I actually loved this movie. It's kinda like a take off American Pie... except it's gay gay gay! And instead of getting caught with a pie... the guy is caught with a quiche... and a gerbil up his ass!
The scene with p0rn star Matthew Rush having a drug overdose was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! Must see if you are easily entertained. I downloaded it from the net.

18th November 2006

1. Krispy Melbourne

While I was racing Jake to a BBQ in a taxi last week I spotted a line up outside a building in Collins Street. I thought it might have been a bar or a club starting to pack out for after work drinks. But no.... it was a brand new Krispy Kreme outlet! The first in the city of Melbourne in fact! And why wouldn't people line up down the road for these delicious babies! Yes yes... we know that they are full of fat and sugar... but those doughnuts are sooo delicious! I made myself sick by eating 6 in a row. And of course I had to buy the 2 dozen sampler box. But I think next time I will pick the ones I actually like.... now that I have tried them all.
You can find Krispy Kreme doughnut store at 607 Collins Street... just opposite the Fitness First gym ;-)

2. My trash is someone else's disappointment

Over the weekend I decided that if I am to move house again I need to shed a few kilos... of my junk.    I decided to start with all the video cassettes, magazines and old text books which take up the book shelves I never used to have.   Who uses video tapes to tape anything anymore anyway? Isn't it all about the hard drive recorder?   I must have had around 200 video tapes!   So I packed them up neatly into boxes, put them on the trolley and delivered them to the laneway, where the council trucks would remove them later in the night.
But before the trucks arrived I was quite horrified at what happened next.    Jake noticed a lot of glittering in the laneway and said that it looks like a lot of broken glass down there.   When I took a look out our window I reeled back as I saw that the boxes of my belonging had been strewn for over 50 metres along the lane.... and the tapes had been smashed open with the tape blowing in the wind.    What kind of rage was this???
I ducked down and took some photos until a homeless man wanted to come and tell me about the history of Melbourne.   Then later I sat on the bathroom window watching strangers wander down the lane and thumb through the boxes of magazines.   It becoming almost surreal to secretly watch people going through your belongings looking for any worth.   One guy picked up a book (and god I wish I knew which one it was) and asked him mate to photograph his face next to a particular page.   Was it the 2002 Adam Gay Video directory?   Was it the Gourmet Traveller?   I will never know.   But during my time perched on the bathroom window I only saw disappointment as people walked away empty handed.
The next time I place my junk out in the lane I will set up a video to capture the whole thing.    That laneway really does have a life of it's own!

3. Free to a Good Home

While I was cleaning out (or slimming down) I decided that it's time to get rid of more boxes of VHS p0rn. It's strange how much you accumulate over time! Who would thought I would be hording this many tapes? So anyway, here's the deal. I'm looking for someone to take these off my hands. Of course it would need to be someone who still owns a video player. All you need to do is write to me and tell me why you think you home is worthy of all this classic (and probably now retro) p0rn. It's mostly 80's and 90's fair from studios like Falcon, Kristian Bjorn, Cardinot, Mustang, Jockss, Belami, Zues, Minotaur, Forum, Matt Sterling, All Worlds etc etc etc.
And you have to take ALL OF IT. You must have access to a car to pick it up. I will not help you onto a tram with it.

4. And Santa Claus came to town!

Last weekend the Myer Santa Claus parade floated on down Bourke Street to deposit Santa Claus at the Myer Department store. I can't help to think it is taken from a larger well known parade in New York... but hey... it was fun anyway! The floats were fun and there were loads of sexy guys and girls to look at too. I must be getting old... I didn't know who half the cartoon characters were.

Click to make em bigger...

5. Shot of the Week

I remember when people used to put magazines on their coffee table.

6. Broken Rites

It has taken me a while to decide to write this little bit... and I actually wasn't sure what to say.   I found this website a week ago that lists the successful prosecution of Catholic priests and brothers for sexual offences in Australia. It's called the Broken Rites website.    Now I already knew who I would find there because of the High School I attended in Wollongong.   The photo above is taken during one of the many outdoor masses we used to have. It's taken from my the school book of my graduation year.
Not long after I left the Christian Brothers College the news broke that the Lord Mayor, the headmaster (brother) and the school's priest had been involved sexually with the boys in my school.    The 3 of them gave the school masses, lead all kinds of projects for the all boy school and the headmaster even had his own radio show on Sunday nights giving personal guidance to people calling in.   One of the projects was opening a house for run away kids.   What a strange world it was!
So there was a big investigation that involved these guys, as well as a load of other businessmen, politicians and priests.   Eventually the headmaster committed suicide, the lord mayor was brutally murdered and the priest went to jail for just 18 months.
There were some surprises on the Broken Rites site. Some names I suspected, but were never confirmed.    But after flipping through my year book I realised that it was the families of the kids and the teachers at the college that I felt sorry for.   How they trusted these people and left their kids in their care.   It also makes me wonder how me boys didn't speak up.... and how many people got away with it.   I am also very amazed at how 'light' the sentences are. You can make up your own mind.

7. Chinese Water Torture

I now know how the prisoners in those war camps must have felt. This week I replaced the "gusher" shower head in the Loft's shower with a water saving model. With water reserves in Victoria down to around 40% it's time we all started doing our bit to save water. But this new shower head is a beast. I can see that it is only going to lead to trouble. I like the fine needle spray whereas Jake likes the rough pumping water. We had twisted the knob it so many times that it actually started to shoot the water sideways, up and over the top of the shower screen. And.... it puts out so little water that me feet are cold. So I'm not sure how long this torture device will remain in our bathroom. If anyone can suggest a better model please write me.

8th November 2006

1. I see all those little charges !

Everyone wins whenever I travel. And sometimes I feel like someone at my bank at home in Australia is cheering whenever I push my card across the counter at Abercrombie and Fitch in New York! YES!!!! HE'S TRAVELLING AGAIN!!!!
The bank fees on purchases made with my credit card (in credit with my own funds) for the month away last month was $249.86. They call them "Conversion" and "Cash Advance" fees. I am amazed at how much the bank makes off my back. I can't wait till the day I have just one bank account, no mortgages and no credit cards. That will hate me then.

2. Cruising Nation

I am totally surprised this week by an article in the Sydney Morning Herald which reports on department store Myer closing the 1st floor men's bathroom in it's Pitt Street Mall store because of "rampant homosexual activity". Hmmm... homosexual activity? Excessive looking in the mirror? Using too much water? Gossiping around the hand dryer? I suspect they mean sex. But the real shock for me was source of information... have you seen Squirt.org yet ? It reports on all the cruising areas in your local area. Of course I quickly went and typed in Melbourne and was amazed at what constitutes a gay cruising area.... and ALL THE COMMENTS about these places. I worked for BHP in their tower at 600 Bourke Street for 4 years and had no idea people were giving out free blowjobs in the food court below!!
Anyway... should you be interested... check out Squirt.... I think you will be surprised. Real photos next week....

3. Jake's Sleep Out

I feel like a terrible housemate today. Last night after a BBQ at Port Melbourne I returned home early. A few hours later the buzzer for the front door of the building went off. I got up in my usual cranky pants state and answered the buzzer.... it was Jake... my housemate... sounding not like himself and apologising for losing his keys. I buzzed him through the main building entrance and went back to bed.

3 hours later I heard Jake outside the front door of the loft calling my name. I had not considered that "lost my keys" meant he couldn't get in to the loft at all. And being so drunk he actually collapsed outside our front door and was woken by people stepping over him on the stairs. And.... it was a REALLY cold night. Does this make me a really bad housemate? This is why we have no pets.

4. Spring Carnival

I'm sure I'm not really a Melbourne-ite until I have gone to a footy game at the "G" and a horse race during the Spring Racing Carnival. People think the Melbourne Cup but I think more locals actually go to Derby Day. It's amazing to see all the ladies in their big hats and the guys dressed up in suits heading to the race track. It's even more amazing to see the havoc they reek later in the day when they find their way home blind rotten drunk. It's funny to watch... but after a while it just gets ugly. This is the footpath in front of the loft after the Derby Day crowd finally went home.

5. Shot of the Week

English lad Scott dropped in over the long weekend for a photoshoot out on the roof. And what amazing weather we had!

6. Wii Wii ?

I've always been absorbed in other people's excitement for new toys. And I just noticed that Nintendo's Wii will be launched here in Australia on the 7th of December. My friend Jacob is going to the Nintendo store in New York at midnight so he can be one of the first people to own and play one. In fact he is even taking it to a friend's place nearby to play it for the next 24 hours.... because his house is a few train stops further away. I love a good obsession.... and I think that's what attracts me to Jacob... apart from his looks of course.
Will you be throwing out your old Nintendo for the new Wii ? I just want to know if I will be able to play Taipei on it.

7. Jet Lagged Mice Die Young

I would like to draw your attention to this article in the Herald Sun today.

JET-lagged mice die younger, researchers say in a study that suggests that working unusual shifts and flying back and forth across time zones takes a big toll on health.
Tests on more than 100 mice showed that old mice forced to live on a confusing schedule of light and darkness, simulating rotating shifts or international travel, died sooner than those on gentler schedules. Young mice treated in a similar way did just fine, the researchers at the University of Virginia added in a report published in the journal Current Biology. Gene Block, a professor of biology, and colleague Alec Davidson said they had stumbled onto the findings. Genetically engineered mice in another experiment died when they were put under lights six hours earlier than usual, but no mice died if the light schedule was delayed. So they tested three groups of mice, with about 30 old mice and nine young mice in each group. One group had its light/dark cycle shifted forward by six hours - the equivalent of waking people up six hours early - every week for eight weeks. A second group had its schedule shifted back by six hours, and the third group's schedule was unaltered. They found that 83 per cent of old mice survived under the normal schedule, 68 per cent lived after eight weeks of shifting steadily backward, but fewer than half - 47 per cent - survived when the lights regularly came on six hours earlier. When they sped up the schedule, changing the light schedule every four days, even more mice died. The mice were not obviously stressed by this - their daily levels of a stress hormone called corticosterone did not increase. "Alternatively, the general frailty of older animals rather than age-related changes in the circadian system may make them less able to tolerate changes in the light schedule," the researchers wrote. Other studies have shown that hormones associated with wake/sleep cycles, such as melatonin, as well as so-called "clock" genes, can affect aging and immune system processes.

I think this explains a lot. I think round the world trips are really bad when done in a short period of time. And I know that a lot of people do these trips for their work. I don't think anyone is paid enough to shorten their life span. And what about those poor mice. At least they didn't have to travel American Airlines.

28th October 2006

1. The World Trip that was...

Doesn't it seem like a long time since I wrote here? Well its has.... and I've been away for 5 weeks if you didn't notice. It's strange how I started to feel like coming home... and now I just wish it was starting all over again. I would kill for a few more days in San Francisco... what a rockin city! This is the track that came on my MP3 player as I sat on the American Airlines flight from LA to New York eating the slimey salad I paid for. Isn't that an amazing trip across America? I wonder how many people do it every week? It is a real shame that Qantas doesn't pick up passengers in LA because a flight across the states on the flying kangaroo would be a real treat for some Americans I'm sure.
I still haven't finished editing the photos from my trip, and maybe if I don't complete my travel log for a little while it will prolong the closure of my 2006 world trip.

2. Mis-diagnosed

I might have mentioned somewhere in my travel log that I picked up some kind of rash on my butt in San Francisco that stayed with me for the rest of the trip.... spiking many trips to the drugstore and a trip to the NYU emergency room. Well I got home and saw a doctor here who laughed and told me I had a fungal infection caused by a heat rash.... and the cream prescribed by the doctor in New York wouldn't actually fix it. So I have the good stuff now and the rash will shortly be a thing of the past.... just happy memories of my butt burning up on those long haul flights. So during the week this article popped up wish made me think about the poor state of the health system in the US.

Be Sure Those Pills You're Given Are The Right Ones
Every year, more than 1.5 million Americans are harmed by medication errors
preventable mistakes that cost the country well in excess of $3.5 billion
to treat, according to a sobering report put out this summer by the
Institute of Medicine, a prestigious group of scientists who advise the
government. And that's just the people believed to be injured by drug
errors. Nobody knows how many deaths are caused by medication errors. And
countless other people are not harmed but could have been because they
took, or were given, the wrong drug, the wrong dose of the right drug, or a
drug that was appropriate but not as safe as alternatives. The report also
estimated that the average hospitalized patient experiences one medication
error every day. (The Boston Globe, September 4, 2006)

3. Puppy

On my first (conscious) night at home Jake reminded me that Puppy was playing as a part of the Australian International Film Festival. So I quickly hooked a ticket and headed down to the Hoyts. I really wanted to see this because I had seen one of Kieran Galvin's a few years ago when we had a short film fundraiser night at ACMI at Federation Square. His film really stood out amongst the films played that night. And now here he is with a full length feature. I found myself being quite sceptical at first, mostly because I now know the work that goes into making these films. But after I relaxed into it I really enjoyed it. It had a strange but brilliant storyline... and somehow quite twisted. During the whole film I could not have guessed what was going to happen next... maybe this was on purpose? Was Kieran sick of seeing films where the ending was so obvious you could take the opportunity to beat the traffic home?
Puppy will open around Australia in March 2007. When you see it advertised you should get along to see it. Finally... good Australian film making!

4. My Head Hurts

Refusing to let go of the holiday spirit I went with the boys down to the Greyhound for a little visit and ended up drinking way too much. Which was on top of the Japanese Slippers consumed in the Loft before we left. You gotta love the Greyhound.... I can't believe we danced to the Urban Cookie Collective's "The Key The Secret". It's always a fun crowd there too. I heard a rumour that the place is soon to be turned into an apartment complex. I guess there's more money in residential property than 90's disco and drag queens.

5. Itchy Feet

This always happens after I return home from an amazing trip. I want to move. I love Loft 2 but it's time to move on. The combination of the cold winter, the huge heating bills and the recent lack of cleaning means that it must be time to move on. I'd really like to move to a nicer place.... something with:
- gas heating
- gas cooking
- dishwasher
- private outdoor area
- close to city (or in the city)
- quiet location
Is this too much to ask for? I've seen these places before... I'm sure they do exist. So once I am out of debt for my trip I saving for a anotehr big move. In the meantime I will keep surfing the real estate websites to see what I can find.

6. Flinders Court

is the laneway that wraps around the Loft. And there is all kinds of crazy stuff that happens down there. It's Sunday afternoon and there is a car parked amongst the McDonalds dumpsters pumping out some gangster rap, and the boys are standing round chroming and dancing to the music. Chroming is interesting and I'm not sure how popular it is in other parts of the world. But it's where you load up some kind of container... like a plastic bag with some chemical product (usually paints, thinners or fuels) to sniff. It has a similar affect to alcohol or smoking pot.... but I can't imagine what it would do to your head. I guess I've done similar crazy things in my past.
UPDATE: I just called the police station (which is one block from here)... mostly because the music was disrupting my serial.... and they said they don't know where Flinders Court is! They conduct drugs busts there almost weekly!

7. Shot of the Week

I met Geoffery in San Francisco a few weeks ago and was lucky enough to catch him on his tour of Australia this week. The colours on the roof came out a little strange in this shoot giving an unreal affect which I kinda like. The rest of the shoot will be posted in the Private Room shortly.

8. International Friends

Aren't they the best! These are the guys who made a big difference to my trip around the world this year. Travelling such a long way by yourself is an amazing experience... but it's even better when there's someone to share it with. Through the power of the internet I now have friends in places all the way around the world. Oh... and don't I love a collage!

13th September 2006

1. World Trip

I am so excited about the trip ! It's still over a week away and already I am waking up early and thinking about all the things I need to do or all the things I'm going to do. I'm even having weird dreams about it. I've been going through every airlines website checking seating arrangements, on board movies.... Qantas even has it's menus listed! My first stop will be San Francisco where I'll be meeting up with my mate Bill. It's gonna be so much fun over there. Then it will be off to New York and see adventures the big city brings. Everything is booked and ready.... I just need to pack and go to the airport.

2. Training

I spent most of last week training people to do their jobs and training people to do my job. Someday I will perfect the training so well that I won't actually have a job anymore. Last week's speciality was subscription billing using SAP. It's something I did myself a few years ago... and since I was the first one to work it out... it somehow makes me an expert.
I actually like training, especially when it's well organised. And there is that feeling of accomplishment when the trainees go away and start using the system.... but god help them if they ever should ask a question in the future about something I taught them. I have very little patience.

3. You can take the boys out of Wollongong...

When I was living in Wollongong and running a gay youth group there I met all kinds of people. Some of them I still bump into occasionally. Of course you might recognize Scott (Beryl Motion) from previous indiscretions in the Loft. But Eric (Isobella Banging) I swear is from another planet! No one has that much energy! About 10 years ago I helped Eric celebrate his 18th birthday at Chequers Nitespot, and then later held the bucket for him as he emptied the contents of his stomach back at my place. And the pair of them together is the most evil concoction ever! Drag was born at Eric's place in Nowra in the mid-90's, and every few years Beryl and Isobella are born again.... like this trip up Oxford Street to the Taxi Club earlier this year. I wish I could have been there to witness it. But thankfully they were thoughtful enough to take along their own film crew for the night out. Thanks for memories boys!

4. Ratbag makes it big.... then dies

One of the most interesting things that happened last week was the passing of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and Australia's response. It often makes me wonder how certain people become famous. It seems that Australia is making a habit out of making some of it's ratbag population famous. Apparently Steve was about to be made a tourism ambassador for Australia before he was killed by one of the animals he got too close to.
My older brother was a ratbag too. He used to be able to make his old Volkswagen beetle stand up on it's back wheels. To all us kids... he was famous! But ratbag behaviour wasn't a marketable talent back then. Now our television shows are full of them! Just watch any of the Australian travel shows. Where do they find people who talk like that? Who uses language like "crikey" anymore?
I think there is a little Steve Irwin in all of us. When we were kids one of our favourite pastime was to go to the nearby lake and throw rocks and bricks at the jellyfish until they were obviously dead. I wonder if this is how Steve started out?
So Steve Zoo in Queensland is surrounded by flowers and every TV station has done some kind of tribute show for him. But the big question is... if we loved him so much... why was he not on TV in Australia? Is it because we can spot a ratbag?

5. Shot of the Week

Sydney p0rn star Mitch Milano dropped in for a Private Room shoot.

6. 2nd Shot of the Week

I'm teaching Jake to clean the Loft while I'm away. Last year when I returned from my vacation the place smelt like a sewer pipe had broken in the kitchen.

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