American Splendor

Ok, I got a little behind and now you are getting two in one day...

It was the fourth of July on Sunday. And while you were all asleep in your little beds on Saturday night, festivities were underway here.

I really do love the fourth of July though. And something about it being 60 degrees here and not having corn fields...or corn for that matter, all around me, was sad.

But, we must celebrate in any way we can.

I met Rachel on the tram, this whole thing was her idea. Cupcakes, watermelon, root beer floats and hot dogs. What is more American than that? OK, what in Melbourne is more American than that?

I couldn't get fireworks. But I did play some Springsteen. It was my second fouth of July in Australia. The last one I spent at Planet Hollywood. I think this round wins.

Community Cup

There are tons of good, local radio stations here that do amazing work. They play great music and have interesting stories and they are just awesome. So, two of these, PBS and RRR get together once a year and play footy. They don't play against each other. They play with each other against local rock stars. They call this event...Community Cup. All the money they raise(they ask for a $5 donation when you enter) goes to a charity.

OK, this place was the convergence of hippies and hipsters everywhere. The three words that best describe it are: beer, streakers and hilarity.

The game was less than enthralling...I don't think many of these guys are going to the gym regularly, if ever. But, what it lacked in skill it made up for in...nakedness? Three streakers? I don't know, maybe more. No one even cared. No one stopped them at least. One girl just rolled around in the mud in the middle of the field.

You Know What This Is Becoming?

It's becoming a food blog because that it all my adventures seem to revolve around. 

I met this nice American here on the 86 tram a while ago. Her name is Rachel. We went to a place called Min Lokal on Saturday. They bake everything in clay pots. I got ricotta baked eggs...Everything with ricotta lately. Look I don't know what they did, but it had pesto and eggs and bacon and ,ya, ricotta. Fresh orange juice. God, it was good. And, only $16. Which, by Australia standards is like super decent for brunch.

Ok, so then we also hit up Hello, Sailor.  This is a market at The Grace Darling Hotel once a month, I think. It's just a bunch of booths where people seel vintage clothes and what not. But, more importantly, The Grace, is where my Fringe Festival show will be held. They just started a band room there and it is gorgeous and perfect. This is not a picture of the band room...but, it is a picture of one room of the bar.

 

Neon Skipper

This little lady was the first neon sign in Australia. It's not so far from where I live. When she's all lit up at night, it looks like she is skipping rope.

Craft Savy Criminals

Today, I went to North Cote.  Don't understand it, but they say North Kit here.  So I saw this girl Claire Hollingsworth at a comedy night about 2 weeks ago. What a peanut!  So adorable. 

She is a music teacher and writes some songs with the kids in her class. This one is about Germain the frog. I think they use to tern "clucky" here. Like a hen, who wants baby chicks. I want these children.

New Blog

OK, OK, OK...I know, there's facebook, this blog, I'm even on twitter just now...but in none of those forums do I get to write about my deep passion for Ohio. I've started an ohio blog. It's only about Ohio things. Right now, it's about liscence plates and Ohio themed items to purchase, but I do hope to make it more interesting.

So, you know, check it out, if you want...here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

As my love for coffee grows, I find myself using many a cup. 

The take away coffee cups here look like this...

BUT, then I found this...

 OK, on the interwebs, you can't really tell the difference.  But, this one is made from silicone, making it reusable.

I has seen some people carrying them around here.  I went searching, for like a whole day and could not find them anywhere.

I went to a little pub that same night and lo and behold...

This is the website of the company...www.hookturnindustries.com.au