Our Lady of Paris On the face of this ancient queen of our cathedrals, beside each wrinkle one invariably finds a scar. ‘Tempus edax, homo edacior,’ which I would be inclined to translate: ‘Time is blind, but man is senseless.’ … [Read more…]
Babylon Babylon is a test of whether or not a film can be the sum of its gorgeous pieces. A great score, a talented ensemble, and expert cinematography—all are undeniable here. And yet there are narrative elements of Babylon that feel hollow from the very beginning … Brian Tallerico Babylon clocks in at … [Read more…]
Botticelli’s Venus Goddess on the mountain top Burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her name … Venus by Robbie van Leeuwen, Shocking Blue rock band. On a recent visit to the National Gallery of Victoria I glimpsed Jeff Koon’s stainless steel version of Venus. And … [Read more…]
All I want for Christmas … ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; … [Read more…]
Capote’s Betrayal ‘Imagination, of course, can open any door – turn the key and let terror walk right in.’ In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Truman Capote is best known for his novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and his narrative fiction book, In Cold Blood (1966). In Cold Blood was based … [Read more…]
Breakfast at Tiffany’s All his prayers in the past had been simple concrete requests: God, give me a bicycle, a knife with seven blades, a box of oil paints. Only how, how, could you say something so indefinite, so meaningless as this: God, let me be loved. Other Voices by Truman Capote. … [Read more…]
Colette ‘People who are perfectly sane and happy don’t make good literature, alas.’ Colette 1873-1954 Every so often I sneak back to classic literature for a brain clean. It’s wonderful to go back and savour books I really love. This time around I’m on a Colette reading jag. Colette was born … [Read more…]
The Night They Invented Champagne ‘Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!’ Winston Churchill rallying the British during World War II. When I was a child, my mother used to indulge in a champagne while playing vintage movie songs. Waltzing around the dining table she’d sing along … [Read more…]
Sailor’s Superstitions ‘I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.’ Louisa May Alcott ‘The sea finds out everything you did wrong.’ Francis Stokes I’ve always been fascinated by the tradition of breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of a ship being launched. It must be … [Read more…]
Hotel Ghosts For the last few days I’ve been doing a road trip around South Tasmania, while staying in a lovely hotel in Hobart’s wharf area. The area is rumoured to be fantastically ghost ridden. About 150 years ago the area around the wharf was known as Wapping. Folk who lived here worked in the … [Read more…]
Hollywood Dame – Zsa Zsa Gabor ‘A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.’ Zsa Zsa Gabor In the fifties and sixties, Zsa Zsa Gabor became more famous for playing herself than the films, stage shows and television shows she appeared in. Born in Budapest and … [Read more…]
Marriage is the tomb of love ‘The company … was far more likely to give pleasure than one made up of persons of quality, where gaiety freezes in the chill of etiquette.’ Casanova describing an evening spent with a group of actors. Having just finished editing my fiction manuscript I’m taking some time … [Read more…]
Freud’s Cigar ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.’ Dr Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939. Freud was a heavy cigar smoker and supposedly said, ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’. Many of his theories relate to uncontrolled libido and wild sexual impulses. Accordingly, his statement probably means a phallic-shaped object such as a cigar, doesn’t … [Read more…]
There goes the neighbourhood I often cross the river and sneak back to my old neighbourhood. Fitzroy has become increasingly gentrified; old houses have been tizzied up and sold for exceedingly high prices. Subsequently most of the artists, writers, junkies, musicians, booze hounds, poets and reprobates I once knew have moved on. Some … [Read more…]
The Perils of Modern Life I believe in censorship! If a picture of mine didn’t get an X-rating, I’d be insulted. Don’t forget dear, I invented censorship. Mae West – actress, Hollywood legend and author of Sex (1926). We live in strange times. 2022 has been marred by extreme climate … [Read more…]
A Tale Of Lost Cities I call architecture frozen music. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Even a brick wants to be something. Louis Kahn Last night, I sat on the banks of the Yarra River which runs through the heart of Melbourne. The skyscrapers appeared as cubes of burning lights. And the Casino’s neon lights … [Read more…]
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ‘I overheard Dorothy tell Major Falcon that she liked to become intoxicated once in a dirty while.’ Lorelei Lee from Anita Loos novella, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. One of my favourite books is a hardcover 1926, tenth edition of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. So popular was Anita Loos’ novella that … [Read more…]
Deck the Halls ‘The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.’ The late Johnny Carson, comedian & former host of The Tonight Show. My Christmas tree has landed and my apartment is now … [Read more…]
All Hallows Eve Halloween wasn’t always orange pumpkins, plastic skeletons and job lots of candy. At this time of year Christmas trimmings and Halloween decorations are fighting for shelf space in megastores. And while nobody was paying attention, Halloween surreptitiously crept over most of October and Christmas decided to manifest early. In my … [Read more…]
The Perils of Netflix ‘If we humans disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.’ Sir David Attenborough – the British Naturalist, after observing beasts of every species for nearly a century. I no longer own a television. It was an elegant piece of equipment with superb clarity and great sound but … [Read more…]
Finding a Soulmate Unbroken happiness is a bore: it should have ups and downs. Moliere Some folk secretly hope that hiding in the wings is their one and only soulmate. Many spend their lives looking for this very special person, believing that once they find the one they will live happily ever after. … [Read more…]
Naked in Leopard Skin Born into Italian aristocracy in 1881 and heiress to a fortune made in cotton, Luisa Casati managed to run up personal debts of $25 million. She and her sister had been orphaned when both parents died and Luisa was only fifteen years old. The Marchesa Casati was a devotee of the … [Read more…]
Cleopatra’s Erotic Vagrancy Cleopatra V11 – born around 69 BC – was an object of fascination and gossip even in her own time. She was a child goddess who was married off to her brother and became Egypt’s queen at eighteen. After many poisonings, killings, plot twists and turns, Cleopatra went on to … [Read more…]
Romancing the Mushroom pine mushrooms live a thousand years in one autumn Den Sutejo 1633-1698 (translated by Makoto Ueda) Autumn in Melbourne is a fine time to take a trip to the Prahran Market and visit the wild mushroom man, Damien Pike. For many years he’s been sourcing and selling mushrooms. Much … [Read more…]
The Insanity of Love ‘Marriage is the tomb of love.’ Giacomo Casanova Some time ago I went to hear Alain de Botton – philosopher and author speaking about modern relationships and love in Melbourne’s gloomy town hall. I’m not sure our drafty town hall is conducive to love. The couple in … [Read more…]