Town hall café, sydney
Toby’s estate coffee. Corner kent & druitt st, sydney. Adjacent to the library, this is a place where office workers grab a cup on their way to their desks, either in this building, or in the surrounding area.
There’s lots of natural light for eating in, thanks [...]
Size matters, wynyard
Merlo coffee. Corner of kent st and erskine st. Their claim to fame is a unique approach to sandwiches: you can buy them in different sizes, which works well for them at lunchtime, I’m told. A visit at breakfast sees a more mainstream style menu.
Coffee is, sadly, [...]
DVD: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Still a gem, even after many viewings. This DVD was the “Bueller, Bueller” edition, and had various extra mini documentaries in it that helped in the appreciation. An 80’s classic, though I’m not sure I’d show it to kids who are the age I was when I first saw it.
DVD: Sideways
A road movie with two rogues, one who you must struggle to like, and one you end up barracking for. There’s all kinds of reasons to avoid this film, and if you’re not into independent films, or road trip movies, or questions like “what does life really mean when you hit 40 and are [...]
Café bolle, neutral bay
Danes coffee. 10-17 young st, neutral bay. A reader mentioned that this place was the original and the best, so I’ve dutifully wandered up to have a look. Inside it’s pretty spartan - somewhere between a café and a takeaway food shop for furniture. Plenty of [...]
Atomic espresso, neutral bay
Toby’s estate coffee. Shop 3, 148 Wycombe rd, Neutral Bay. A little hole in the wall affair with a galley kitchen in the back, but decorated in true style. Rows of patterned canvases line one wall, and there’s enough light to make the space seem welcoming.
Coffee [...]
Espresso @ westpac, wynyard
Espresso di manfredi coffee. Clarence st, sydney. In a giant atrium, dozens of westpac staff stop here to grab their morning caffeine hit. There’s some limited seating, awesome natural light, thanks to the floor to high-ceiling glass, and a general buzz of activity.
Coffee takes a while [...]
Little italy, cronulla
Ducale coffee. Family-friendly pizza restaurant / café overlooking the water (from across the park). A woodfire pizza oven in the corner provides aromas, and a mix of patrons provide the soundscape of this licenced pizza restaurant that stops short of having tablecloths.
Coffee - no decaf on offer [...]
[37 signals] Slate - Why Starbucks actually helps mom and pop coffeehouses; and why at least one of them is opening up a store next to a Starbucks, and still making money.
Sidetracked cart, circular quay
Schibello coffee. George st, sydney. Just a cart against the wall of an office building, but there’s usually a queue of people out front, so I thought I’d investigate further. A lifelike toy dog sleeps on a mat in the space where coffees are delivered, and [...]
Movie: No Country for Old Men
Nothing makes you feel young like responding to a “are you free tonight” request from a friend by going out to the movies, and this was no exception. I was interested in seeing this film, and also worried at the descriptions of how violent and horrible it was.
It turns out, [...]
Jetblack coffee lounge, Cremorne
Danes coffee, 1/271 Military rd, Cremorne. A lot fits into a small space here - there’s tea and coffee on sale, along with a range of bodum and t2 products, coffee courses coming up, and wireless internet for $4 per hour (or $10 for 3 hours).
As [...]
Between studying and other commitments, the break between Christmas and New Year has actually been the longest time off work that I had in 2007! Despite any complaining you might read in the paragraphs that follow, it was really an excellent break.
Thinking that I was playing the piano on Sunday night (before Christmas), we had [...]
Poe, the new iPod touch, sat down to play with the other toys.
One of the teddybears asked him if he wanted to play football. The teddybears loved to play football: they could run around all day, and if they fell over, all the better! Some of the teddybears were missing patches of fur - the [...]
DVD: The Godfather (1972),
The Godfather: Part II (1974),
The Godfather: Part III (1990).
While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend watching all of these in a single day, it certainly makes the whole thing easier to follow. Traces the life and family of Michael Corleone, a mafia boss in New York over a few decades. The first two are [...]
DVD: Bob Roberts
Tim Robbins again in a political film. Shot as a documentary, but really a parody of the electoral process, and the media-induced hysteria that is part of politics. An unusually watchable young Jack Black, and a number of other now famous names have small parts here. Worth it for Alan Rickman alone.
DVD: The Apostle
Robert Duvall wrote, directed and starred in this piece about a southern preacher. A complex character whose faith seems sincere, despite his ongoing tendency to drift away from the life that you’d expect of a preacher. Slow moving, but not necessarily in a bad way.
DVD: The Player
Robert Altman piece set in Hollywood; Tim Robbins is good as the self-interested movie executive, there are dozens of cameos, and the plot - while not as good as I remember it - stands up as one with some worthy twists and turns.