Xmas DAY 2006

I guess on reflection my Christmas this year was very Australian- esp for my Northern hemisphere readers!
Here is our tree:
Note the Weber bbq and the Galah at the bird feeder in the background!

Here is another shot of the wrap around verandah with a bunch of Galah's having a go at the feeder. These Galah's are pretty bossy and push off the other birds.
There's a pair of Crimson Rosella's that come down and are pretty tame. I was able to feed them from my hand.



After we had breakfast and exchanged gifts within the Fraser family we headed off to my uncles beach house at Copacabanna. (A beach on the Central Coast- in between McMasters and Terrigal).
And by beach house I mean RIGHT ON THE BEACH:

It's a fantastic place and with an outlook I really appreciated this year.

All the Uncles, Aunties and Cousins get together each year for lunch and table tennis competition. It's quite a big table spread:

Lunch consists of cold meats, seafoods and lots of salads. Oh, and plenty of beers and wine!
Anyways.... that was pretty much my Christmas this year.

Xmas EVE 2006

So this year I did Xmas the traditonal FRASER way!

This involved heading to The Valley- the parents weekender- a little over an hours drive north from Sydney.
I really dig it up there!

The folks were already up there, but I drove up solo as the brothers were taking to long to get themselves ready. Once you get off the main road you have to drive along a dirt road that eventually comes into a very scenic valley, and as soon as you hit the bottom, on cue, you have to casually swerve past the wallabys that are hanging out on the road.

As I pulled up the drive way I noticed that there was a PIG in the paddock out front of the house. I asked my dad about it and he said he thinks it belongs to someone a few properties up the road. I decided to go down and check him out!

He was pretty friendly and liked a bit of a pat (and a feed!)

About an hr later my brothers arrived so we all went down to check out the pig again...

(Thats the Los Bros Fraser! L-R: Matt (eldest), Nick (youngest and tallest(6'4!), Todd (largest) and me (shortest and 2nd eldest).

We were chilling up on the verandah when I looked down and saw the PIG in our garden. Somehow he'd gotten out of the paddock and wandered up to see us! He hung out for a bit until Dad chased him off.

I guess we had a typical Australian Christmas Eve dinner:

Prawns and snags on the barbie!!!

Hey- I think Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers plays bass in Younc MC's (awesome) song "Bust a Move!"

It's midnight on saturday. I'm just about finished off a bottle of wine and the film clip just came on cable!

I think I HAVE TO obtain that song!


If I had it it'd be just another weapon in my aresonal to beat DI in dj battles!!


YOU HEAR THAT?

It's almost been a YEAR since our last battle, DI!

TIME FOR A RE-MATCH!!!

Ho Ho Ho- HOE!

I know it looks shitty- but click on it and it'll open up all nice and pretty. And then you can see my shitty animation!!!

So it's been very quiet around here of late. I guess alot has been going on, but I honestly haven't had the inclination to post anything. No internet at home dosen't help either.

The world seems like it's still spinning at an alarmingly rate- and I feel dizzy and unsettled by it all.

The Diggsville Offices have successfully relocated to Melbourne where we nabbed ourselves a fantastic RAD-PAD/LOVE-SHACK/BUNGALO!
The London/Spanish Project epic has wrapped up. We've visited EVERY god-damned home wares/furniture/white goods store EVER created. I reckon I dropped a few grand in the last few weeks so my tollerance levels for shopping is now at an all time low!
Just got back from my 3rd Xmas shopping expedition and it was pretty lack lustre.

I find I'm missing being in Europe and even living in London. Melbourne seems like a big country town and my survival instincts have been put to the test over the last 2 years that everything this side of the world seems tame and small-towness.
Live is safe and easy here.
Although there are an enormous amounts of junkies and fucked up people in Melbourne. Which I'm curious about as life here is just so much easier. I guess it's all about comparasion.

Looking forward to kicking it Melbourne-style proper-like come January. We'll see how my itchy feet and wandering spirit goes at settling.

London is covered in a thick fog over the last few days. It's so bad that airports have closed. I'd like to have seen this! Must make for a very atmospheric time of year!

Instead I've been in the desert/drought/bushfire stricken Melbourne! Seriously- it's so dry and dusty that our local park feels like the outback.

I'm up in Sydney where it's still very green and lush. Esp in my folks neck of the words in the North. ALthough the weather is pretty wussy. Low 20's. Overcast and rainy. I was hoping for some pool-side action and beach excurisons- but NO!
Today ain't so bad. Hight 20's.

Think I'll go for a swim!

Enjoy your holidays whereever you maybe!

Tunes: Part 102.

If it's not THE PIXIE JUNKIES, it's the BELLE AND SEBASTIAN CULTISTS!!!


I can't win I tells yah!

More shitty artworks

.......?!?!

ALSO:

Working in the new studio in Melbourne. Working hard. But made more easy with the eye-candy in the room. (I like to perve on Garth when he's pretending to work (but I'm sure he's actually reading downloaded comics or playing around with tattoo designs. WE SEEEE YOU!!)
Really can't quite wait till next week when my current BIG deadline has passed so I can chill out a bit and enjoy Melbourne. Although I'll probally be stressing about house hunting then!

WHICH REMINDS ME:

House hunting SUCKS ARSE! Not made anymore enjoyable then cocksucking agents and rip-off slum lords!

I would like to see this movie:

What up in November?

Culture shock?
Nuerotics?
Hoopleheads?
Beautiful landscapes?
Babies?
Big Country Towns (aka Australian cities)?
Customer service?
Duty Free scotch?
Hong Kong?
Crappy Australian weather?
Jetlag much?
Over priced- yet great quality food?
Melbourne?
Sydney?
Hobart?
Doomed Relationships?
Cats and Cat allergies?
Old Jobs that are New Jobs?
Chicken, Brie and Tomatoe pizza?
Weddings?
Balls?
Homeless?
House hunting?
Over priced "foreign beers"?
Tassie beer festivals?
Tassie seafood?
The Familius?
The Paternatural Familius' 60th Birthday extravaganza?


........ think thats it........!





Whats up with you?

Diggsville East Coast Tour Dates

It works like this:
Tues 31st Oct- Leave London
Weds 1st Nov- Arrive Melbourne (late)

Sun 5th Nov- Arrive Sydney (midafternoon)
Dads 60th Birtdhay. See older brothers new pad. See the dog before she dies. Hopefully see peoples new babies.

Weds 8th Nov- Arrive Hobart
Weds 16th Nov- Arrive Melbourne.

Right now I've got 10 mins left of work FOR THE LAST TIME!!

To those in Elsewhere in the world- I'll see you sometime soon!
To those in Australia- I'll see you REAL soon!

s.

The Fonz would dispair.

After walking all the way THRU London this morning (45mins) , and being at work for 1 and a half hrs, I discovered MY FLY WAS UNDONE!



NOT COOL, Scott! NOT COOL!

The old blog has been a bit quiet of late which would lead readers to believe that nothing has been happening WORTH reporting on.

Nothing could be further from the truth. NOTHING!

Fact is I’ve been doing SO much I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write it out. That’s probably a reason why I’m behind on some of my emails as well. Got a lot going on!

I won’t get a chance to give a blow-by-blow description- but you’ll be able to read it in the lines of my face next time we meet.

However, here are some tasters of some of the FUN stuff that’s been happening:

From Ireland. Just 2 of the kick-arse castle we came across.

LOVED the ivy covered ruin. It was in an amazing location- in the middle of a cow paddock by the ocean. We were able to climb all over it.

The Hommies on the London Eye:

The latest exhibition at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall is an incredibly cool slide exhibition. That’s SLIPPERY slides!!

Carsten Höller is the madman/genius behind it. His vision of the future involves slides as the new means of transport!

There are 5 slides in all- each one coming from a different level of the hall.

Check it out:

Read more HERE.

And… best of all.. here is VIDEO FOOTAGE of ME being spat out of the level 4 slide. Check out my exit speed- that’ll give you an inclination of just how fast you go.

Also listen at the beginning. You can hear me squealing like a girl (but in a manly way).

The London Girls footage is the funniest out of all of us, but I’ll let her show it if she wants.

Next week I’ll have FIRM dates of the East Australian tour. Some surprises there for sure!

The Kimster!

Occasionally I’ll get marginally fascinated by individuals of importance . Fascinated enough to do some internet research into them. Early this year it was Jesus. The other week it was Pope Benedict XVI.

This week it’s Kim Jong-il:

Such a strange and enigmatic man. Is he a cunning master manipulator or an irrational madman?

There are all sorts of weird stories about him, but due to the highly secretive nature of the North Korean government, no one really knows if they are true- or part of Kim Jong-il’s own mythmaking.

His flamboyant playboy lifestyle, stern leadership abilities and hip love of pop-culture would make him the coolest world leader ever- if he wasn't such a dangerous nutjob who's actions make not only the people of Nth Korea life a misery, but also threaten to plunge the world back into a nulcear cold war.

In my VAST internet research (by "vast" I mean the BBC news website and Wikipedia) I've come across this rad propoganda video about the man himself.

Here's a screen capture:
It's a musical retelling of his birth. It starts out similar to the creation of Monkey Magic and ends with a bit of Clint Eastwood/Pale Rider action!

Lets hope those High Five's aren't EXPLODING NUCLEAR POWERED High Fives!

Peace out Mr Kim. PEACE OUT!

Food

I’ve lost my inspiration for cooking of late. The only thing I seem to crave cooking is salmon.

In Ireland we had plenty of tasty seafood (as well as the Irishman’s’ apple- potatoes). We even stumbled upon an Oyster Festival in Galway. I may or may not be allergic to oysters- so I only had one. Even though I love them.

I also came across WHITE pudding- which begs the question- if BLACK pudding is made from congealed blood- what’s WHITE pudding made from?

The Krauts, The Micks and The Skips!

So once again Germany remains RAD!!

It was my 2^nd time there and really enjoyed:

The Culture- Bavaria has a different culture then rest of Germany- Old skool and long in traditions. For example it is COMPLELY normal for anyone to walk down the street wearing lederhosen. Really. Pretty conservative as well- but if you show a little respect for them, they’ll reciprocate.

The Language-for some reason I can get my head around simple German phrases as opposed to French and Italian.

The Food- lots of meat. Breakfast = Weiswurst (white sausage) Weisbeer (wheat beer) and giant pretzels. Lunch = Grilled sausages with beer. Dinner = Sausages with beer.

The History- Long, interesting history and exceptionally important 20^th C history.

The current Society- The Greens party has been in power for a long time. They are great re-cyclers. You have to pay for plastic bags at the supermarket. Even in the busiest city areas you don’t have to lock up your bike!

My Friends- got one or two awesome friends over there and plenty of friendly acquaintances!

I’ve uploaded some of our photo’s HERE if your interested. You’ll find photos from Berlin and Munich 2005 and Munich this year.

Off to Ireland tomorrow. London Girl and I hook up with my jet-setting/inheritance-spending parents. Fly into Cork. Fly out of Dublin on Sunday. Have no idea what we’ll do in-between. But we’ve hired a car, so road-tripping and Guinness-drinking might be the order of the day. Try and catch some good Irish hoe-downs!

Then it’s back to my last 4 weeks in London!

Yes, that’s RIGHT. I’ll be back in Australia on the 1^st of November!

As I’ve mentioned here sometime ago, I’ll be in Melbourne for a week- then down to Hobart for a week- maybe two. After that I’m not really sure as I want to get up to Sydney see the rest of the family and the Sydney crew…. But duties may force me back to Melbourne.

What duties?

Well finding a house to live in and a job!

THAT’S RIGHT!!

Some of you didn’t know that The Frase and London Girl European Adventure will be re-locating to Melbourne on a permanent basis!!

After much deliberation we decided we want a bit of the good healthy life. So hopefully Melbourne will rock it for us.

If not we’ll be back on a plane to Europe.

I’m actually walking away from a pretty descant job- which seems very crazy, but I’m hoping I can get something as good and enjoyable in Melbourne. I have a few options on the boil but none are set in stone as yet and might end up going nowhere.

So if anyone hears of anything coming up that might suit me, I’d be VERY happy and thankful if you could let me know.

Email on: scott at sdfraser dot com

Laters!

A Bavarian Love Story

Told in picto-grams.

Munich

Yo!
I'm off to Munich tomorrow morning. To the very HEART of Bavaria. Behind The White Sausage Border.

My German is pretty rusty (Herr Helgate- we should've engaged in a hun-disscussion to brush up my skills).
I let my beard grow long and MIGHTY but I HAD to give it a trim last night- it was getting way to itchy and food kept on getting stuck in it.
So I fear I'll be exposed as a Hannsy Auslander!

We get back on Monday, but my folks will be arriving in London that night so I won't be back online till next tuesday morning.

I haven't seen my mum for over a year and a half!

Anways, there's been plenty of stuff here this week to tie you over till next.

Talk amongst yourselves!


Auf weidershen!

General Mike P vs Wolfmother

And while we're talking about music, Mike Patton gives a little word about the state of music today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98WLLWMq3o&eurl=

New CD's

At lunch time today I went and treated myself to some new cd's.
The following comments are based on ONE listen each, so they may not be FACT.


I've been after this cd for YEARS and I've seen it everywhere in London. I can't remember why I haven't bought it sooner but I am glad that I did.
It's full of great old skool beats and funky samples and is ACE!
Johnny Cash's last recording (except for the OTHER last recording that'll be released next year.....). It's not my faourite American Recordings, but it's Johnny Cash, so thats still GOLD! Quite mellow and soft which I don't like, but it's a testimant to Cashs' vocal storytelling. He achieves more power and narrative on his deathbed with a failing voice then others can only ever dream about.


Wonder Stuff's latest. I probally shouldn't have bought this with out giving it a listen as it's not terribly good. It's not woeful. But it ain't gold, and I don't have time for anything that's not GOLD! So now I'm wishing I didn't blow 13 quid on it. I think I was pressured into it by Maggie and Dogpossum calling me a pussy ages ago....



WORDS HURT!!!

Mead2

I take it back....

Mead is quite nice when heated!

Also: A small update on my website:
www.sdfraser.com

Death of a Crocodile Hunter

Y'know what?
I am genuinely upset about the death of Steve Irwin.
When I first saw his show a few years ago my immediate reaction was "What a dickhead".
But then I watched another episode and I GOT IT.

I've always been an animal lover- inparticular Australian reptiles and I salute the job that Steve did in boosting the publics perception of how beautiful, interesting and important these animals are. He showed that what people regard as "maneating monsters" are really misunderstood, fearful animals that need to be treated with respect and protected.

The work he did for conservation causes was phenomenal.

The work he did internationally for Australia was also huge.

He copped a lot of flack for his perpetuation of the Ocker Australian- but you know what? ALOT OF PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA TALK LIKE THAT.... Rarely with such passion, warmth and excitement though.......

His death was very surprising and shocking, but I'm glad that he died at the hands of a wild animal rather then, say, hit by a bus.

That little stingray with the unlucky strike of it's tail should remind us that humans do share this world with other creatures. Even if you've wrestled crocodiles, wrangled boa-constrictors or danced with king cobras- if you are in their environment then treat them with respect.