Lobotomy

Paintball! Anyone interested?

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:46:24 GMT

Hey all,

I'm organizing paintball probably for some time in February (likely dates are 15th, 21st or 22nd). The location will either be an indoor place at Oakleigh or an outdoor one out in the middle of the bush (um snakes, spiders and dropbears?!?!?)

Cost will be $60 including 200 paintballs (then pay as you go if you need any more) for a 4 hour session.

If you're up for it let me know!

Free Booze at Cab Noc this Friday! 10-11

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:46:38 GMT

Just so you guys can't say you weren't told - a reminder that from 10-11 this week in the basement bar (the one with the zebra stripe floor) there will be free Beer, Bubbles and Vodka!

So get in early!

:D

How freakin handy is THIS site?

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:03:18 GMT

http://www.tramroute.com/

Progress or I'm fading away (..to a baby elephant)

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:16:42 GMT

OK it's one thing to see a slowly diminishing number on a scales most mornings, it's another to put on some work pants you haven't worn in 5-6 weeks to notice; that which was tight... is now baggy!

Basically I've lost 7KG in the last couple of months, just by keeping to 2000Kcal per day. Now admittedly the initial 1 or 2 kilos was helped along by a prolonged misery fueled drinking binge as a result of the whole Kate/Jason thing, but the rest has been through a constant, but very small, effort of measure and control.

As a science boy, I always smugly believed that weight loss was a simple equation: Less fuel + more exertion = Weight Loss and whadya know? I was pretty much right! :P

With the aid of a simple website for keeping a food diary with targets and approximate nutritional breakdowns of the food I was eating in combination with a tiny bit of increased activity I've been able to shed rolls of unsightly flab without really changing my diet or lifestyle!

I'd honestly recommend the site to anyone looking to slowly lose weight in a sustainable low impact way....

http://calorieking.com.au

Here's a typical day for me:

Breakfast	Load Meal \| Save Meal	Cals	kJ
You have not added any foods to breakfast.
(x) 1 muffin (186g) of Muffin Break: Doughnuts, Muffins, Pastries, Scones: Muffin, Morning, Bacon, Cheese & Egg		463	1934
(x) 200 mL of Coffees: Black w. one teaspoon sugar		16	66
Meal Total		479	2000
Lunch	Load Meal \| Save Meal	Cals	kJ
You have not added any foods to lunch.
(x) 20 g of Don Smallgoods: Luncheon Meats: Sliced, Deli Supreme, Oven Roast Turkey Breast		22	92
(x) 2 slice, thick (40g) of Bread: Wholemeal		190	796
(x) 50 g of Fruit, fresh: Avocado, average all types, raw, edible portion		80	335
(x) 1 cup, shredded (35g) of Vegetables, fresh: Lettuce, Common, raw		5	22
(x) 3 thin/small slice (15g) of Vegetables, fresh: Tomato, ripe, raw		8	34
(x) 125 g of Meals: Hot Chips		375	1569
Meal Total		681	2847
Dinner	Load Meal \| Save Meal	Cals	kJ
(x) 1 cup of Thai Foods: Meals: Curry, Thick Red w. Beef		600	2500
You have not added any foods to dinner.
(x) 1½ cup (160g) of Rice: Rice, White, cooked		312	1306
Meal Total		912	3806
Snacks	Load Meal \| Save Meal	Cals	kJ
You have not added any foods to snacks.
Food Total		Cals	kJ
Day Total		2072	8653
Exercise		Cals	kJ
You have not added any exercises.
(x) 20 mins Walking 3 kph		-74	-310
(x) 10 mins Walking 5 kph		-56	-232
Exercise Total		-130	-542

Calories

Set Nutritional Targets

You have used 1942 out of your net daily budget of 1930 calories and have -12 calories remaining. 49% of the calories are from fat, 10% from protein, 41% from carbs and 0% from alcohol.

In other news.....

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE IS THIS WEEKEND!!!11!!

Not got your tickets yet? Then ~~fuck you for keeping us poor bastids risking $$$ on the edge of nervous breakdown~~ fear not, they are still available at Peril, Heartland, Vic Goth, The Lock Works and through Moshtix... and there'll be some on the door for $60.

Tomorrow night beeetchos!

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:04:22 GMT

Yarrrrr! Trick or treat, me hearties!!! YES all ye lily-livered land-lubbers and swashbuckling shirt-lifters, Cabaret Nocturne be doing a well fucked-up PIRATES & WENCHES Party for HALLOWEEN! Why? BECAUSE WE CAN! (also because who else will want to rent a pirate costume for halloween!?) Get dressed up in your finest wenchery, plunder your mum's best booty, throw a pumpkin on your shoulder and come and get truly messed up in fine style!

CHEAP ENTRY FOR THOSE IN COSTUME!! If you've made an obvious effort to dress as a ghoul or ghosty, zombie or hunchback, WENCH or PIRATE then we'll knock 3 bucks off the cover. Oooarrrgh!

DJ's Lobotomy and Tommy Rotten will be joined by regulars Miss Aeryn, Matt Sin, C-Rexx and special guest Ash (ex-Caligula, now in Sydney supergroup The Graphics) to spin up the most spastic and out of control dancefloor since, er, we did it last month!

$10 cocktails all night! Two levels of aural violation!

Doors 10pm, TEN BUCKS in costume. La Di Da, cnr of Lt Bourke & King St (use King St entrance).

http://ladidapeople.com

http://cabaretnocturne.net

The Birthday Massacre + Voltera & guests: Saturday Nov 22nd @ The Central Club, Richmond

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:05:44 GMT

OK guys, if you wanna go to this show I'd strongly suggest getting tix in the next couple of weeks. This is by far the most likely of all our shows to sell out.....

Another Rivetting tour proudly brought to you in conjunction with Cabaret Nocturne & Fiend Magazine!!

CLICK HERE TO BUY TIX ONLINE THRU MOSHTIX

The Birthday Massacre are more than just a band: they're a worldwide
phenomenon. Hailing from rock-capital Toronto, Canada, in the eight
years since the band formed they have found success the world over,
with large and loyal fanbases from Austria to Australia and everywhere
inbetween. Defying categorisation, The Birthday Massacre's sound is
somewhere between electronica and guitar rock, infused with story-like
elements of children's fiction and fantasy, mixed with gothic
sensuality, industrial grind and dark sonic distortion. Their music
has been uniquely dubbed 'post-retro'. For the very first time,
patient Australian fans are at last invited to take part in The
Birthday Massacre experience.

Tour dates are:
20/11, Brisbane, The Zoo
21/11, Sydney, Manning Bar (All Ages)
22/11, Melbourne, Central Club Hotel, Richmond
23/11, Perth, Gilkisons

The Birthday Massacre's line up is: vocalist Chibi, guitarists Rainbow
and Mike Falcore, keyboardist Owen, drummer Rhim and the recently
returned O.E. on bass.

The band was formed in 2000 and independently produced and recorded
their first two albums, "Nothing and Nowhere" and "Violet". Due to
their independent success, in 2005 they were approached by European
record label Repo Records (followed shortly by Metropolis Records in
North America) and the band began its steady climb to reaching a much
wider audience. 2005 also marked the bands first European festivals, a
video for "Blue" and the independent creation of a small DVD
collection of videos.

In 2007 the band released their highly popular album "Walking With
Strangers" produced by long time Skinny Puppy collaborator Dave 'Rave'
Ogilvy to public and press acclaim, seeing the album debut at number
10 on the Billboard charts in the US. Touring in the last couple of
years since the release of 'Walking with Strangers' has seen the band
performing internationally, traveling across Canada, the United
States, Mexico, and many European countries. They have become renowned
for their high-energy live performances, drawing large mixed crowds
through their appeal to fans of a surprisingly wide range of genres.
Equally comfortable playing intimate venues as they are on a festival
stage, the band's highly-praised performances will continue into the
next year as they continue touring "Walking With Strangers". The tour
brings them to Australia for the first time, where they will showcase
their second single from 'Walking With Strangers' - "The Looking
Glass EP" plus their first single "Kill the Lights" and tracks from
the earlier albums "Nothing and Nowhere" and "Violet".

http://myspace.com/thebirthdaymassacre
http://thebirthdaymassacre.com

Voltera confirmed for support, more TBA

http://voltera.net

CLICK HERE TO BUY TIX ONLINE THRU MOSHTIX

Don't have a credit card? Buy in person from Peril Underground, The Lock Works and Heartland Records - more outlets to be added soon.

Fiend Magazine issue 16 out now!

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:06:25 GMT

It is with great pleasure that we're in a position to finally announce that issue 16 of Australia's premier dark alternative publication, Fiend Magazine, will be hitting stores this weekend. After a long and difficult road to resume Fiend following it's recent hiatus, including changes to format (the mag is now full color), a reshuffle of staff, changes in ownership and even printers the latest issue of Fiend will reach specialist stores in Melbourne and Sydney this weekend and will be available in stores and newsagents nationwide from next week.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, volunteers, advertisers and readers for all their efforts, support and for continuing to believe in Fiend Magazine.

Without further ado, here's what to expect in this quarter's issue...

Features:
The Birthday Massacre
Within Temptation
Daniel Myer
Ladytron
Meza Virs
The Crystalline Effect
Will Coles
MegaTokyo
Yoji Biomehanika
Fashion: Japanese Street Fashion

Plus the usual fashion, music and g33k news and reviews, style DIY guides, city guides, club photos and more!

++PLUS++ FREE colour double sided pull out poster, featuring Emily Autumn, Covenant and The Birthday Massacre

GET YOUR COPY NOW!

see http://www.fiend-magazine.com for subscriptions and stockists

Oct 10th Covenant, Diary of Dreams, Haujobb/Destroid, Voices of Masada + Ikon TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:44:05 GMT

Cabaret Nocturne and Rivetting Promotions in conjunction with the Under the Blue Moon Festival are incredibly excited to announce...

COVENANT(SWE)
DIARY OF DREAMS(GER)
HAUJOBB vs DESTROID(GER)
VOICES OF MASADA(UK)
IKON

Oct 10th 2008

at the AMAZING Roxanne Parlour (Coverlid Place, CBD)

In October 2008 Cabaret Nocturne and Rivetting Promotions bring you the biggest gothic industrial international tour Australia has yet seen! Headlining are Sweden's darkwave pop kings Covenant, on their second trip to australia after their triumphant 2005 tour. Informed by industrial, new wave and electro, and having created timeless dancefloor hits for the last ten years or more, Covenant's elegaic dark pop has found fans from Australia to Alaska and everywhere in between. They have spent 2008 headlining festivals all over Europe and, with newest member Daniel Meyer (Haujobb) on stage with them, will treat Australian audiences to a brilliant live sonic and visual performance. Accompanying Covenant on this industrial-pop juggernaut are: Daniel Meyer live, playing from his Destroid and Haujobb back catalogue. Meyer's last visit to Australia for the Distorted festival was arguably the festival highlight, and this visit will delight eager fans awaiting his return. Also Germany's Diary of Dreams, who, after persistent fan demand, divert from their current European tour to bring their gothic-tinged electronic show to Australia for the first time, and finally Voices of Masada, Britain's beloved contribution to this electronic gothic pop showcase. It's only fitting that Australia's own Ikon, recognised internationally for their New-Order-esque electronic melancholy pop, will support throughout the tour.

a

Tickets NOW ON SALE from the Moshtix website or call 1300 GET TIX (438 849), The Lockworks (beside DV8), Peril Underground and Heartland Records (next to Vic Market)

Tonight: GULAG Tomorrow Night: SLASHDANCE

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:37:08 GMT

Okily,

For anyone who doesn't already know and is looking for something to do this weekend....

GULAG
Friday July 4th, 11-3am, FREE ENTRY

447 Church St, Richmond. A $7 cab ride from the city, you whingeing nancies.

$7 Absinthe, $12 cocktail specials of our joint devising.
(I make nice cocktails)

DJ's Louis, Lobotomy, Sister Suffragette.

SLASHDANCE

Once again DJs will be playing the very best trashy 80's and the cream of the alt.90's. You can expect to hear everything from Oingo Boingo to Nirvana, Human League to Blur and B52s to The Prodigy.

DV8 opens it's doors Saturday 10:30, LVL2 opens at midnight

SLASHDANCE - Lvl 2 @ DV8 (CBD nightclub)
12-14 McKillop Street

VNV NAtion + AngelTheory Aug 15th @ The Hi Fi

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:26:15 GMT

Cabaret Nocturne and Rivetting Promotions are very happy to announce the 2008 VNV Nation Australian tour!
The tour will comprise of 4 shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The Melbourne leg will take place on Friday August 15th at the Hi-Far Bar.

Pre-sale tickets $49.50 +bf (door sales $60) available online from The Hi-Fi box office (http://www.thehifi.com.au/) and from Peril Underground, Heartland Records and Missing Link.

Supports AngelTheory + DJs Hellraiser and Brother Peirce

VNV Nation

VNV Nation´s inspiration was originally the clash of modern and classical Europe cultures, where mythology and technology live in an uneasy fusion but this has since broadened to encompass a world view. The music ranges from electronic dance music to ballads and classical inspired music. Inspirations are taken from a wide range of styles including contemporary underground club culture, industrial and classical music. The lyrics draw on philosophy, literature, art, politics and different forms of symbolism. VNV Nation does not advocate any ideology. It is a metaphor for expression.

VNV Nation was formed after Ronan Harris moved to London from his native Dublin, Ireland. Originally it comprised a collage of orchestral, electronic dance and soundtrack inspired pieces. This results in two limited edition self-produced vinyl releases - "Body Pulse" (May 90) and "Strength of Youth", " (Nov 90). Ronan moved to Toronto in late 1990 where he continues working on the project.

In late 99 the album "Empires" is released and stays at No.1 in the DAC (German Alternative Charts) for 7 weeks winning DAC album of the year '99. The album has 2 singles- "Darkangel", which tops the DAC for 5 weeks in mid 99 and "Standing", which stays at no.1 in the DAC for 8 weeks in early 2000 (the maximum a single can remain in the DAC) winning a German Alternative Music Award for most successful single of 2000 and sharing the place for most successful single in the DAC's history with the Chemical Brothers. A limited edition of the Standing single was also released entitled "Standing / Burning Empires" which contained alternate versions and remixes by VNV Nation of tracks from "Empires". This remains one of the most sought after VNV rarities.

In March of 2001 the first ever VNV Nation album was remastered and released as "Advance and Follow v2". In September of the same year the single "Genesis" was released. It spent 4 weeks in the German Media Control Charts reaching no.67 as well as reaching No.1 in the DAC. In October 2001 VNV Nation embark on the highly successful "Futureperfect" tour of Europe and North America. The 4th full length CD "Futureperfect" was released in January 2002 and reached no.25 in the German Album Charts. This was followed by a second single "Beloved" which again reached the high 60's in the German Singles Chart. Following the release of "Beloved" VNV Nation leave Dependent. In April 2002 VNV Nation go on a second tour of the US. Despite being 4-5 months after the previous tour of North America it is an even bigger success.

After not having played there for 3 years, 2005 saw VNV Nation play 8 major US cities with Front 242 sideproject Coder 23 to start the year. All shows are sold out except Detroit which is hit by a major snowstorm on the day of the show. "Matter and Form" is released in April. It reaches #7 on the US Billboard Electronic Chart, #32 on the US Billboard Independent Chart, #1 on the German Alternative Album Chart and #38 on the German Media Control Album Charts. The band tours Europe and North America on the main section of their "Formation Tour". The tour lasts 3 months, covers 60 shows and is a complete success. In September VNV Nation played 3 highly successful Australian dates.

2008 sees VNV Nation return to Australian shores to satisfy hungry fans eager to see a reprise of their highly acclaimed 2005 tour.

More information:

http://www.thehifi.com.au
http://www.vnvnation.com
http://www.metropolis-records.com
http://cabaretnocturne.net
http://www.angeltheory.com/

Webjet (http://www.webjet.com.au) allows you to search all budget carriers at once with flights to Melbourne currently on sale from $49!

New Community: Goth City Maps

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:16:11 GMT

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know about a new community gothcitymaps which aims to get people all over the world to create Google maps of their cities to serve as a valuable resource to any dark alternative types who visit those cities.

Currently we're looking for as many submitters as we can get (obviously one for every city on Earth :P). We are also going to be hopefully needing community moderators (perhaps one for each contributing country?), first preference will be given to map contributers.

Thanks and happy map building!

Fancy boozing, growly metal, cock-rock DJing and feral photos!

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:25:02 GMT

Well that was a full and varied weekend!

Friday, Kate and I went to the Cocktail and hors d'oeuvre matching thing at Vue De Monde, followed by a drink at the Blue Diamond Bar which has a pretty awesome wrap around city skyline view. We rounded off the night by going to see Voltera at Pony. A fun night indeed.

Saturday I spend most of the day dropping flyers off to every relevant gothy type shop I could think of (with a little help from the Google map I made). I had planned to organize my music in preparation for DJing on the "metal" floor at DV8, but the evening managed to get away from me, so I just grabbed my Slashdance case and a handfull of other relevant CDs from the many piles around the apartment. In the end I had barely enough relevant tunes to fill the full 1.5 hours, and started getting a bit nervous when the next DJ still hadn't showed at 1:35 :P
I got a lot of requests for bands like Opeth, Devildriver, Lamb of God etc. which I just couldn't help with unfortunately, but the crowd on that floor is very enthusiastic and seemed more than happy with a bunch of Industrial Rock, splashed with some Nu-Metal and Cock Rock :D

Anyhoo, here's my

Dio - Holy Diver
Danzig - Mother
Guns n Roses - Night Train
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast (R)
Murder Dolls - Slit My Wrists
Ministry - N.W.O. (Update mix)
Rob Zombie - Scum of the Earth
Rammstein - Amerika
Marilyn Manson - Beautiful People (R)
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Tool - 46 & 2
Slipknot - Wait and Bleed
System of a Down - Boom! (R)
Rage Against The Machine - Bulls on Parade
Nightwish - Planet Hell
Rammstein - Du Hast (R)
Sepultura - Chaos BC
Korn - Freak on a Leash
Disturbed - Prayer
Deathstars - Blitzkrieg
Warrant - Cherry Pie
Mötley Crüe - ?
Lacuna Coil - Enjoy the Silence (R)

Sunday was Kate's "Victorian Feral" themed photoshoot for school. It was a lot of fun and everyone who turned out were quality types to hang with. Kate's cousins' place in the bush was especially awesome as was their generous hospitality on the day. Extra special mention goes to James for driving down by himself, even though all of his housemates were filthy pikers!* :P

*Some had better excuses than others

Bonza, I'm an Aussie now too (kinda)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:42:27 GMT

My Permanent Residency application got approved today!

I am now, pretty much, dinky-di(sp?). I can come and go as I please, get Medicare (pshaw!), change jobs easier, work in a different industry if I choose, wear a hat with corks on it, be unemployed if I choose or get unlucky (although I don't qualify for Centrelink for 2 years :P) without being sent home, buy property, get an ABN, apply for citizenship, throw shrimp on a barbie, work for the government (I think), apply for government grants, pay more tax (probably) and support an AFL team.

I'm not sure if this is because the Rudd government has taken action on the skills shortage by increasing the output of the DIAC visa processing center, but this application used to take a minimum of 3 months and maximum of 6, I'd been told by two migration agencies that they rarely saw one less than 4 months.

Mine took 5 days.

As a result I'm not really prepared for the changes this will bring, my income, tax allowances and visa management agency costs are all going to change, possibly on nett for the worse. I'm now able to seriously look at buying property (before I could only get a 70% mortgage, I had to apply for "foreign investment permission" and I didn't get the first home buyers grant). Since my effective rent will now go up and property prices look likely to go down, it might just be the right time for me to buy a place, which is a SCARY thought.

My mind is absolutely buzzing.

Cab Noc is Back - April 18th - 2 Floors and Memberships to be had!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:18:31 GMT

Bloody hell it seems like (and has been) AGES since the last Cabs... I'm seriously chomping at the bit here. I'm particularly excited about this one as there will be 2 floors which means we can somewhat bypass one of the usual gripes from the purists at both ends of the musical spectrum, with pure beats downstairs and mostly guitar based stuff up.
The venue has real potential too, although the management are a bit too....talkative ("I operate on gut feelings, and I have a great feeling about you guys" puh-lease). You Filthy smokers are very well catered for with a comfortable and convenient nico-den right beside the bar.
They have some cool artwork on display too, with the option to add some of our own, which we might do time permitting.
All in all it looks like it might be a ripper, so fingers X-ed folks.

You can see the usual promo blurb at cabaretnocturne and if any of you would like to repost the info, it'd be well appreciated....the more of your friends that come, the better night we'll all have!

Anger is a gift

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:56:28 GMT

Well BDO was pretty damn good. Saw Billy Bragg, Arcade Fire, Bjork and Rage Against The Machine. I sprained my back or something over the weekend and it was seriously acting up at the gig making it almost impossible to keep standing during Bjork, my theory is that her performance was actually making the pain worse somehow, probably as a result of her being an Evil Icelandic Insanity Pixie.

I know I was a little 'Tired and Emotional' from a B-I-G weekend but I don't mind saying that seeing RATM was an emotive experience for me, bordering on religious. I was, at times, moved to the verge of tears. My teeth and jaws ached from being clenched in anger. This band literally changed my life, when I was a teenager their music woke me up, showed me that there was a hell of a lot wrong with this world. That if people didn't realize that and speak up then it would only get worse. The course alteration this epiphany had on the direction of my life has literally made me the man I am today. I admit that I have not done the feelings of discontent and righteous anger that they instilled in me the justice they deserve, I have not taken enough action, not changed enough minds, not gained or shared enough knowledge. This is possibly why I found the experience such an emotional one. They woke me up, and I let them down, but I do hope that I have over the course of my life at least made some of the people I have encountered think for a moment about why the world is the way it is and what can be done to resist.
But back to the band; they put in an amazing performance, they had the energy of nuclear detonation and the maelstrom of seething anger and blistering outrage emanating from Zack de la Rocha washed over the crowd in palpable waves. This was simply the most vibrant performance I have ever seen from any band. With that said, there seemed to be mistakes-a-plenty during the performance with bass lines and drum beats tripping over each other momentarily in a couple of songs, but a performance that can have a profound effect on your mental state washes away the complaints of a few timing problems. No errors, though, from Tom Morello who, when he wasn't improvising bluesy solos or rhythmic bursts of noise and feedback, flawlessly reproduced the studio versions burned into my memory a hundred times and more. This man is a master musician, a craftsman, a deity of distortion.

The BDO ticket price was worth it if Rage were the only band I had seen that day, no future gig will be the same for me again.

/Teenage fanboy

Property impatience....

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:48:33 GMT

Damnit, why do I even look at the property sites when I know I'm not ready to buy yet.

2 bed unit, in a building I really like with a car space, balcony, gym & pool. Price guide $290-320k

Sigh.

Jan 18th Cabaret Nocturne - Returns to Dream!

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:22:10 GMT

We've thought hard about this after learning that many are itching for a chance to return to where it all began, for a night of nostalgia, mayhem, party tunes old and new and just a touch of debauchery... so for one night only we're taking Cabaret Nocturne back to the birthing channel for a ripper of a night in the dilapidated glory that is Dream nightclub!
We hope you'll join us to shake it on the checkered dancefloor, drink cowboys at the glamorous old bar and chat on the mezz by the pool table. So many memories! We want to see the old guard out too (you know who you are) as we haven't seen many for years, so tell everyone you know that ever rocked out at Dream. Lets make this another rosy memory of the joint before it falls down and if you're one of the many new recruits to the ranks of Cab Noc then this is your chance to revisit our roots!

Details you say?

Friday January 18th
Dream Nightclub,
229 Queensberry St. Carlton
Doors 10pm. $10 or $8/w pass / host list and $6 for members

http://cabaretnocturne.net and now on facebook!

At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 09:55:12 GMT

I've always been a bit of a history buff, especially political history and in particular that of the US. I believe it teaches us very valuable lessons, allowing us to avoid the mistakes made by those in previous generations. The world is a pretty fucked up place in general and people seem hopelessly predisposed to extremism and corruption. When we find something that seems to work we inevitably attempt to take it to the nth degree, usually with unfortunate consequence. When we achieve power or popularity it invariably seems to corrupt us. As a result history can be a damn depressing place to 'hang out'. But sometimes, just sometimes those old bastards got it right, which can be uplifting and educational.

Some recent musings on my behalf have reminded me of the story of one Senator Joseph McCarthy who prosecuted the "reds under the bed" Communist witch hunts in the US in the 50's. It's arguable that Senator McCarthy may have started out with a just cause, albeit one born of patriotism and paranoia and the fear of a clandestine Soviet threat against the US which equalled the military threat in those cold war days. This fear and patriotism was not restricted to Mr. McCarthy and when he began to accuse the government of not doing enough to combat Communism at home he saw a huge swell in his popularity and thus also his power and influence on the affairs of state. He was not shy about grabbing hold of the power this mandate gave him and not before long had co-opted the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and transformed it into a mechanism to bring his witch hunt into full effect. Together with Roy Cohn he proceeded to denounce legions of politicians, entertainers and clerical staff, many of whom were coincidentally his political enemies, as Communists or homosexuals (ironically Mr. Cohn who was particularly vicious in his condemnation of homosexuals, was himself gay). Their reign of abuse lasted several years and yielded many casualties, destroying the careers and marriages of hundreds of people, some of whom commited suicide as a result. In the end they too were destroyed by the plague of negativity, conspiracy and deceit they conjured up. As the numbers they persecuted increased so did the tide of disgust at their methods. Rarely is there such a moment of palpable social justice as the moment when the tide finally turned against them. It took form with the words of one man, Joseph Welch, who finally took McCarthy to task in open hearings of the Subcommittee. McCarthy was attempting to destroy the career of a young attorney at Welch’s firm because of an involvement with an alleged Communist affiliated group in his student days, Welch took issue and rebuked McCarthy with the immortal words "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" He then left the room to loud applause from the spectators, and a recess was called.

This was the moment which arguably ended McCarthy's career.

Slashdance isd BACK! This Saturday @ DV8!

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 05:48:44 GMT

LEVEL 2 at DV8 this weekend plays host to your favourite trashfest of cock rock and retro madness from 1980 to 1999... YES IT'S BACK!! That nirvana of music, dance and deleterious beverage featuring DJ's Tomiscuous, Kurt Cocaine, Mixmaster Malice and C-Rexx let loose on the decks for a night of mental dancefloor antics and wholesome drunken fun!!

"not your average retro"
a retrospective musical feast featuring the best of the
trashy 80's and alternative 90's
Everything from New-wave to Grunge and Cock-Rock to Britpop

Mention Slashdance at the door for $2 off entry!! Level 2 opens midnight.

Don't forget! Your now monthly dose of Cabaret Nocturne is THIS FRIDAY!

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:01:13 GMT

This Friday 21/9 sees the next rockin' installment of Cabaret Nocturne at our awesome new venue, Eleven-A! Last time was wild, with a great crowd and a packed dancefloor all night and this month promises to kick more butt, as we've negotiated even better terms with management so the frivolities can carry on all night long!

The guys that run the place loved our opening night and are keen to make us all feel welcome there so rock up, rock out and take advantage of the happy hour from 10 - 12, with $3 Becks on tap, $4 bubbly and wine and $5 basic spirits (no crap either, it's all quality top shelf gear). Later on there will be a Jagerbomb happy hour!

Joining Thomas and Lobotomy on the night are special guest DJ's Poisondwarf (KKBB, 1334) and Statik Pulse, the Industrial/EBM interloper with an impressive history of gigs up his sleeve both here and abroad. Check him out at http://myspace.com/djstatikpulse

Cabaret Nocturne @ Eleven-A 11A Highlander Lane, City Friday 21st September Doors 10PM $13 or $10 with pass, $8 members.

http://cabaretnocturne.net
http://myspace.com/cabaretnocturne
http://eleven-a.com

See ya Friday night!

Sleep Apnea and quitting Padawan Learners

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:16:14 GMT

OK so something happened at work today that's got me really paranoid and feeling bad.
First a little background. For the last 2-3 weeks, I've been incredibly tired, moody, grouchy and have lots of muscle and joint aches, Ive also been getting WAY too drunk too quickly and having real difficulty remember events during drinking sessions. I initially thought it was from overdoing it and not getting much sleep (on weekdays I'm up at 7:15 am but I'm a night owl and rarely get to sleep before 12:30, and the weekends...well they are often a write-off) so I cut down on my going out and drinking, and started hitting the hay as early as 10:30 some nights. Now I did a little research and I'm now thinking that I may have Sleep Apnea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea). Yea I know what you are thinking, Mr. Chump here diagnoses himself on the intarweb and "WOW LOOK! I have all the symptoms!" But the weirdest one was when I asked Kate if I ever sounded like I stopped breathing while asleep, and she said "Yea, sometimes.. I told you before, remember?" and she had but I'd just assumed it was a variation on the chronic snoring that I'd started to exhibit :/

So, back to today. I got a call from my boss to say that the new graduate intern we had from Indonesia was trying to quit. He cited communication difficulties as the reason (the implication being that he couldn't make himself understood well enough to do his job). This guy is fairly quiet, but he has pretty damn good English, a nice young chap and really quick on the uptake most of the time. Now with my accent, differences in culture and the language barrier, there were some times that we both had to repeat or rephrase what we were saying, but that's a normal part of multi-cultural Australia, so I thought nothing of it. Now I'm the person who deals with him the most, so if there is a problem, it was quite likely to be with me. So I'm really hoping that my lower than normal levels of patience and higher than normal irritability weren't somehow to blame for this kid wigging out and quitting. Now I don't think I was shitty with him, but there were times when I guess I might not have been as super-cuddly as I would normally be. The funny thing was on Friday we had our usual team meeting and this poor guy (and I only noticed this in hindsight) was really quite emotional. When he gave the rundown on what he'd been working on, he made a special point to thank me and another co-worker for teaching him and helping him learn the ways of the work that we do etc. There was quiver in his voice and at one point I thought he was going to cry. Actually thinking about it, I now have no idea what's going on....I'd have a chat to him, but he didn't come in today :S

Those of you that know me well, know that while I won't run from a fight with an asshole, I certainly don't get my jollies from picking on the innocent or defenseless, so if I'v been the cause of this guys woes, I'll be pretty upset. Oh well, I guess we'll see tomorrow. That's when he makes his final descision to stay or go.

It's 7:50 am and I'm at work....

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:51:44 GMT

...that alone would be unusual as I rarely make it in before 9:05 but today I'm here at this hour because I never left!
Yes almost 24 hours at work!
Crisis? Yes.
Averted? Almost.
Could you say I just saved the company? Probably.
Delerious? See above (it is kinda true though).

PSYCHE $15 PRESALES now available ONLINE!!

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:52:56 GMT

http://www.greentix.com.au/evinfo.php?eventid=17617

Psyche, Canada's dark princes of synthpop now based
in Berlin, return to Melbourne for a live performance
at the Evelyn on Friday 10th of August. Playing songs from their
upcoming new LP plus last year's 'Unveiling the Secret
2.0' reworks project, Psyche will show why their
live performances have always blown the roof off
overseas, and why lead singer Darrin Huss enjoys the
reputation as having one of the best voices in
synthpop today. Supporting Psyche are Melbourne's
ethereal dream-poppers Dandelion Wine who
have just returned from a triumphant headline show at
the WGT festival in Germany, and angular post-punk band
Schadenfreude.

Entry $18 on the door. PRESALE TIX $15 GO HERE:

http://www.greentix.com.au/evinfo.php?eventid=17617

http://psyche-hq.de
http://dandelionwine.com.au
http://myspace.com/schadenfreudeband

I've been searching for this recipe for over 10 years

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:46:10 GMT

Came across it again at Garlic & Shots in London, wrote it on a it of napkin while drunk and forgot about it.....just found it it my wallet!
Gotta try it soon to see if it is as good as I remember :P

Rum Runner
Dark Rum (or perhaps spiced rum)
White Rum
Banen
Cassis
Cranberry Juice

Lobotomy & QuickJadeFox's European Vacation

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:46:14 GMT

OK well I guess I'll write up a bit of a trip diary, as best as I can remember things. For those of you who enjoy it when that vein in my head comes close to exploding, lots of stuff went wrong, so there's lots of ranty goodness on the way.....

The first leg was to Kuala Lumpur, pretty univentful really, I had a few hours to kill so I decided to get the train to the city for lunch. Unfortunately I didn't really have enough time to do anything except ride the local PT system and have a brief stroll around a market. Of course after a 8 hour flight and a few hours on trains my LJ post on the subject wasn't too clear, but nevertheless some of you bumheads managed to draw some spaztastic inferences from the few lines I typed, well done you! :P

Onward to London to meet up with Kate (who travelled seperately due to booking reasons) and then to Dublin. When we arrived I had to call my dad as he didn't see us come out of departures, when I saw him it was a bit of a shock as he'd lost a LOT of weight and looked pretty freaking frail :/
His driving skills have deteriorated a bit since I was last home (and he was a danger on the roads back then) so the trip to the Meehan Maison was scary as hell!

As soon as I got in the door my mother starting pissing me off. "Your hair doesn't suit you", "Carry that bag for that girl!", "That shirt doesn't look great" etc. etc. etc. Is it any wonder I moved out at 17!?! (actually she was never THAT bad in the past, my sister explained it as her being nervous and not knowing what to say.....solution? STFU!) There was some awkwardness about the sleepin arrangements too. They prepared two rooms and basically said "sleep however you want" so I moved the 2 singles in my old room together and that's where we slept. I'm sure the 'oul one was not overly impressed, but I was in no mood to be diplomatic with her and we live together for gods sake, any other arrangement would have been bordering on idiotic.
News that we intended visiting Prague, London and Berlin combined with the fact that we were leaving for a wedding in Co. Mayo in the morning didn't go down too well either. Oh well, Kate survived the encounter and that was the main thing ;)

The next afternoon liam arrived (the useless git was supposed to arrive at 10am). it was good to see the fecker again and we immediately started having an awesome laugh as we made the approx. 150 mile (240km) journey to westport co. mayo. the journey took almost 5 hours! Irish roads STILL SUCK! Those of you who have met Liam know he's pretty awesome and as such the holiday instantly became 150% more fun. Unfortunately there are fuckall photos from this bit as we left the digital in Dublin, d'oh!

As soon as we got to the hotel, Liam had to leg it to the rehearsal as he was the "best man" the reason for the quotes will be explained later. It was a fairly plush hotel with a nice pool and such so we went for a swim and got settled in. The wedding was between one of my good friends from Uni, Steve, who I went to the US with and another friend of mine from uni who was also the sister of my first long-term girlfriend. Seeing her again was kinda weird, she had morphed into this kinda Desperate Housewives looking character. I suppose most people move on to new things in life unlike myself, Liam and a few of our other group of friends from back in the day. We all still have a little Peter Pan syndrome going on, probably myself most of all.

The next day was the wedding, the bride had also morphed into a similar Stepford Wife type, even apparently having her teeth capped or something (think Pat Healy/Matt Dillon in "There's Something About Mary"). Mega weird. Predictably enough most of my friends and associates reverted to schoolboys in the restrictive atmosphere of the church making purile jokes and 'coughing' things like "scumbag!" at the groom as he walked by. Gold :P

Liam made what might possibly be the worst Best Man speach ever at the wedding. It lasted 20 mins and wasn't even remotely funny. I really have to get a pocket tumbleweed made. In the end we got slammed by jetlag combined with a large heavy meal and booze and piked early, but the party continued on to the wee hours finally degrading to Liam and Ginny waking most of the hotel at 6am with their shrieks and bird calls from the carpark!
Drunk idiots in carpark :P

We spent one more night boozing in the bog-warrior pubs of Mayo.

"Do you have any bourbon?"
"Bourbon? What do you mean like whiskey, yea?"
"Um a cuple of JD and cokes will do thanks"
"Grand, that'll be 12 Euro 60 please" (That's $20 folks!)

Liam and Frank kicked the acoustic covers duo off for a few tracks and Kate made a kickass Salt drawing shaded with pepper! Well it was text rathe than a pic but it was well cool, the barmaid didn't know what to make of it.

Coming "Soon"....
PART II - Ireland: Roadtrip Mayo->Kerry->Limerick->Dublin