As you may know, Mac doesn’t even bother labelling their computers as laptops anymore. From their perspective, its more of a desktop replacement that also happens to be portable, a notebook computer. From the users perspective, its too damn hot of a beast to be placed on the lap.
Even when placed on a table, my Macbook Pro gets seriously warm to the touch, not scorching mind but warm enough. I’m not unduly worried but also understand the importance maintaining a cool system has on performance.
The solution? To get Bluelounge’s Cool Feet which is basically 4 suction cups you attach to the bottom of your computer, effectively propping it up for marginally better ergonomics and immensely improved air flow where it matters. Its also pretty cute to boot.
Barely a month has gone by and my unsettled self has decided to splash the cash on a new set of canalphones. This time, I opted for Etymotic Research’s ER6i. Which is a super duper noise isolating set of mini cans. They came with some tri flanged tips that I cut down to a bi flange to fit my ears. After this simple modification, I can now cross the road in constant fear that I will get run down by things I cannot hear.
When previously, the incessant chatting coming from other people used to be still audible, it is now diminished to an almost complete quiet, save for the music. Sometimes, I don’t even hear the hum of the bus. When I do take the phones off though, I get smacked by the torrent of noise that is our everyday life here in Sydney. Sometimes I feel like never taking them off.
I kopped a pair of black ones from a really good online stockist located in Perth, Headphonic. They cost me AUD179, which is pretty decent given the Etymotic site lists it for USD149 and it comes with free shipping.
Yet, there’s downsides to every upside. The phones are nice and all, but certainly sound really cold and dry. I thought I was a boring guy already and that these much vaunted “analytical” canalphones would be the ticket. I do wish it did have a touch of life to it but I’m not really complaining as they keep me sane. Its more of an observation if you will.
The other thing, which I’m rather peeved about, is that I think I need to convert my entire music collection into .flac files or 320kpbs mp3s. How long is that gonna take!
Getting a new computer is always a real treat. Not only do you get the ram/processor/graf card upgrades etc etc etc but you also get to screw around, spending hours updating stuff and downloading files and even more hours customizing your computer to get it to look the way you want.
This is my current desktop, stolen off Kitsune Noir, with icons from version 3 of Martin Lexow’s Blob Icons uploaded via Candybar.
Yesterday, I was supposed to head out to Campos for a cuppa, which is a bit of a trek but my weekly travelpass meant I might as well make use of it. So I met up with a mate in the rain and we headed to town for lunch before suddenly changing our minds and opting to head to Balmain.
Our destination was a tiny little slice of heaven called Adriano Zumbo, which also happens to be the name of this younger than me pastry chef. The place has won rave reviews from Timeout Sydney as the best patisserie in town.
Is it? Quite simply, yes. The shop is small, really really small and when you enter, the bread section is on the right. Already just glancing at a danish, I can tell this place was different. The selection of breads is also rather interesting but it didn’t take long for my gaze to be averted by the brightly lit pastry display nearby. Apparently, people used to have to consume off premises, presumably at home although some would surely not have been able to suffer the wait. Recently though, they’ve actually expanded, with a cafe of sorts to actually sit down in and have a coffee. There’s also a reasonable selection of chocs that certainly piqued my interest and some dessert. Someone at another table ordered one where they do a gimmick, injecting some coulis and anglaise with a syringe into the dessert.
But make no mistake. The main draw has just got to be the pastries. Marvellous, delightful little concoctions that are a blend of artistic flair and pure skill. There’s such an attention to detail in how each and every piece looks so beautiful. It was immediately apparent to me that this was the work of a skilled patissier and also one with a bit of style.
I shall now dispell your doubt. They actually do taste as good as they look.
Its one thing for me to dissect a single pastry alone to illustrate what was going on but in my opinion, its best to savour these pricey (7ish a pop) but oh so worth it bits of pure goodness by oneself. I guarantee anyone with a sweet tooth to come away feeling surprised and absolutely ecstatic having savoured one of Mr. Zumbo’s confections. Gorging on 4 different ones with my mate, we were pretty chuffed as pretty much everyone, waitstaff included were cooing over us as we ate. Every 15 seconds, I had someone saying “OMG That looks gorgeous!”. Their glee certainly helped to make my experience all the more enjoyable but the pastries themselves could hold their own. I felt like a kid on X’mas morning as I whacked away at meringue, mousse and marzipan alike, digging for gold and finding it.
Go on an empty stomach. Get as many as you want and get diabetes. It will be worth it. Trust me.
Adriano Zumbo 296 Darling Street Balmain 2041 Tel. 02 9810 7318 (the cafe is @ 308 Darling Street, just nearby)Financial crisis or no. I had to have a new computer. I just had to. For whatever vanity or need to distract myself from the drudgery, I simply had to. So I went and ordered a whole new set up just because I felt like it.
From left to right.
- Refurbished 160Gb black iPod Classic
- Etymotic Research ER6i
- Refurbished 15.4″ Macbook Pro
- Neil Poulton X LaCie external hard disk drive
- Apple Mighty Mouse
So I just caught Ichi The Killer, one of Takashi Miike’s masterworks that had Asano Tadanobu in one of the lead roles, alongside Nao Omori, who played the titular character. Most of the promo at the time when the film was out had a picture of Tadanobu with his augmented face, a lower jaw held in place by 2 piercings. (In the film, he takes them off to allow his lower jaw to drop further, turning his mouth into a weapon in a fight.)
This was back in ‘01 of course and I could hardly recognize Tadanobu and also hardly paid much attention to the film because it was being lauded as a gore flick. My ignorance probably led to the much delayed viewing, some 7 years later. The film is awkward in parts and has an ending that can be kinda confusing but also happens to be really over the top in terms of violence and perversion. I suppose that is the film’s bright spark, that its actually quite funny in how beyond violent it becomes, with all the blood and bodies getting sliced apart and spleens flying and shit.
The film centers around two main characters, Tadanobu’s Kakihara and Omori’s Ichi. The former is the flamboyant, unconventional, sado-masochistic yakuza hell bent on finding out what happened to his boss, Ando. The latter is the quiet, shy and timid weakling who dons a superhero getup to exact revenge. There are a whole host of side characters with a whole host of side stories.
Kakihara wonders which corpse would best accessorize his trenchcoat.
As the film progresses, we learn that Kakihara isn’t that loyal to his boss but rather, he desires the pain that only Ando inflicted well. In the meantime, he gets by by beating people up in his path and torturing them in order to find out where the source of his pain/pleasure had gone to. One notable scene had Susumu Terajima hanging on a series of meathooks with only the skin on his back holding him up against gravity. The poor guy later returns mummified but still alive in a darkly comical fashion. Kakihara refuses to believe that Ando is dead, that is until he realises that Ichi might actually surpass him and possibly bring him greater excitement instead.
One person Kakihara gets a helping hand from, is Karen, played by Singapore’s very own Paulyn Sun who also goes by the curious Alien Sun, on account of the size of her head. Two thumbs up for some SG style schoolground humor. She is the one sore thumb, speaking her lines in a mix of Cantonese, Japanese and distinctly Singaporean English. Who’da thought that you’d find a Singaporean in a much heralded Japanese gore flick? Anyway, she is truly horrendous in her role, whether on purpose or otherwise, it didn’t matter because I had my best laughs at her expense during her climactic death scene which has her shrieking in absurdity, blood spurting from her neck. SG represent.
But I digress. Ichi is supposed to be the main draw and he is, as his character is the perviest of them all. He only ever gets a hard on from watching acts of violence. Ejaculating into a potted plant as he watches Ando beat up a prostitute. Ando spots him and gets mad of course, smacking Ichi around until the crybaby reaches maximum stress point, going from Jekyll to Hyde and slicing Ando in half with a well aimed downward kick. Ichi just so happens to be dressed in a ridiculous super hero kinda getup with a freaking pop out blade attached to his heels. The beat up prostitute thanks Ichi but that becomes her undoing as he then gets convinced he’s supposed to take over from Ando. The poor girl’s resignation to her fate is summed up by her facial expression as she mutters a thank you before her blood gets all over the apartment.
The trail of blood continues extensively and eventually, Ichi and Kakihara get into a final encounter and the story reaches a resolution of sorts.
Some people actually think this film actually contains some kind of diatribe about the degradation of man or some sort of spiel relating to how human violence is unrelenting or some such. I have no fucking idea what they were watching. What I saw was a film Tarantino would worship, only its completely unpretentious. It is what it is, simply a violent yakuza flick, nothing more nothing less. You can sensibly talk endlessly about the deeper meanings within but I find none there and feel pretty certain Miike or even Hideo Yamamoto, who wrote the manga that was the source for the film, ever had any such intensions. Its vulgar, disturbing, stomach churning and perverse. Its a Japanese gore flick like how Japanese gore flicks should be.
Incidentally, I also caught Ichi 1, the prequel to Ichi The Killer. Helmed in ultra low budget handheld camera style by Miike’s assistant, Masato Tanno, Ichi 1 traces how the pervy Ichi became a killer. Apparently, he just always got a hard on watching acts of violence, only being able to ejaculate when he was able to commit the same acts of violence afterward. Also, I think its his semen that’s supposed to be in the opening title sequence to “Killer”. Ew.
