...at perry lane cafe

is where you will find me most mornings these days, sipping on a delicious latte made with Campos coffee, reading the paper and working. note - they have free wi-fi, which is handy.

But better than that, the cafe has this serene, creative, friendly environment.

It is not right on busy, noisy Oxford street. In fact, it is kind of hidden down a lane way just off Oxford Street, called none other than Perry Lane, Paddington.

Be guided in by the flowering bougainvilleas and the Campos coffee sign.

Once inside, there are lots of little sitting nooks to choose from in the light, airy open space.

The food is yummy. My favorites so far are the poached eggs, with spinach, chorizo, baked beans topped with a bit of parmesan for brekkie and their Caesar salad for lunch. They also serve a range of teas from T2.

Upstairs are more tables and this cool art space with rotating exhibits. Rumor has it that they will have live music, maybe a flamenco guitarrist.

Staff are friendly and helpful selecting from the menu. Only complaint is that after receiving food, staff are too polite and stay away for a tad too long.

Working from home, this place is my solace and my office away from my office.

Angels...in America

Just back from opening night of my friend's play "Angels in America." For American readers, yes, there was an HBO version of this directed by Mike Nichols. I saw it on stage in Parramatta at the Riverside Theatre and it was brilliant. Set design was compact, versatile and transcendent. Fast-paced, good cast (no bias) highlighted the intelligent writing of the play.

Strange to think that this all happened while I was alive. I remember the Reagan years and yet had forgotten this key piece of American culture - the denial of the existence and tragedy of AIDS. So much of Reagonomics has been discussed of late and Bush's emulation or attempted emulation of the Reagan values masked the very real, very fearful and very tragic isolation in which many homosexuals of the 1980's suffered and confronted against their wishes the disease which takes so many lives.

For those here in Australia, it is theatre worth the trek out West.

http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au/performance.asp?pID=847

bondi dawn chorus

a beautiful dreamy way to start a day. after watching the spaniards play incredible tennis at the australian open until 1:30 a.m., i rattled myself out of a deep sleep to go with friends to see the 4th and final performance of the sydney philharmonia chorus at bondi beach starting just before sunrise. that is right, i went to bed at 1:30 and woke at 4 to arrive at a beach at 5:30 a.m.

and it was so worth it.

it began with a surreal soft strum that bounced off the waves. it crescendoed with a rousing nigerian song called "o-re-mi".

the visual background morphed from darkness with a clear view of the australian southern cross constellation to soft blues to stunning pinks as the ball of fire muscled its way above the cliffs.












here's cheers to good friends for providing the motivation to partake in this experience.