The Rationalist Manifesto » Melbourne http://www.rationalistic.com Memes and other creatures Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:46:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Back in Melbourne http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/10/03/personal/back-in-melbourne/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/10/03/personal/back-in-melbourne/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:10:33 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/10/03/personal/back-in-melbourne/ Home sweet home! ;-)

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/10/03/personal/back-in-melbourne/feed/ 4 Melbourne International Animation Festival http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/06/25/melbourne/melbourne-international-animation-festival/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/06/25/melbourne/melbourne-international-animation-festival/#comments Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:55:36 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/06/25/melbourne/melbourne-international-animation-festival/ On Sunday evening John and I went to see the ‘Best of Festival’ screening at the Melbourne International Animation Festival at ACMI. It was very cool, and we also found out at the time that there is a Pixar exhibition starting this week, including panels by Pixar creatives. We’ll be going to one of the more interesting ones, that cover the creative process at Pixar itself. (Yes, I know you are jealous Tasha ;-)

For the exhibition promotion they have some pretty familiar and extra cool characters on display!

Larger than life Pixar logoSlightly smaller than life Monsters

…Just in case you were wondering, the Monsters are the two on the right ;p

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/06/25/melbourne/melbourne-international-animation-festival/feed/ 3 Shoya, Melbourne http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/19/melbourne/shoya-melbourne/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/19/melbourne/shoya-melbourne/#comments Sat, 19 May 2007 01:56:54 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/19/melbourne/shoya-melbourne/ Caught up with Dave/Dov yesterday and we went by his recommendation to a Japanese restaurant called Shoya, near where Market Lane meets Little Bourke St. It was an amazing culinary experience! Definitely the best Japanese food I’ve ever tasted.

The restaurant is divided into four sections and we had been seated in the “Traditional Dining” section. We decided on a seven course ‘Chef’s Meal’ and each dish (except for one) was an experience to savour!

One of the dishes was assorted Sashimi presented in an hollowed out ice ball, it was a sight to behold as well as being incredibly tasty, they have the ultimate salmon in that restaurant. The first two photos are from the site, and the latter two are from my crappy cellphone camera:

Sushi in Ice Ball #1  Sushi in Ice Ball #2 Sushi in Ice Ball #3 Sushi in Ice Ball #4

Note that once the temperature rises a bit in the ball, it turns completely clear, they seem to use purified water so there is absolutely no imperfections in the ice, it really almost looks like the Sashimi is floating in crystal.

Other dishes included crab meat wrapped in something I didn’t recognize dipped in monk fish liver sauce, sea-urchin hollowed out and filled with itself along with salmon caviar, Wagyu beef (like Kobe beef) tartar and more.

I had a really great time there and will return for special occasions.

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/19/melbourne/shoya-melbourne/feed/ 3 Nine Inch Nails at the Metro, Melbourne http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/14/personal/nine-inch-nails-at-the-metro-melbourne/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/14/personal/nine-inch-nails-at-the-metro-melbourne/#comments Mon, 14 May 2007 13:59:56 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/14/music/nine-inch-nails-at-the-metro-melbourne/ I wrote this post on the train, but for some reason my moblog software wouldn’t post, so I’m re-typing it here with some modifications ;-)

I’m on the train back from the NIN show at the Metro – it was amazing! Really great energy in the air and an incredible venue. The Metro is a night-club, but it still works for live shows as it seems to have been built as a theatre.

Trent Reznor was obviously enjoying himself tremendously on stage, and even said as much, specifically comparing how good this evening’s show was to yesterday night’s. Apparently referring to the fact that the crowd yesterday was so unruly that the show had to be cut short and some patrons were treated for head injuries from thrown beer bottles. I’m glad I wasn’t there last night and got the tickets to tonight’s show instead. Pure luck!

It was quite interesting to hear NIN’s classic songs performed in this tour, as it is almost all guitar based with little of the heavy Electronic sound that is Trent Reznor’s trademark. Some of the songs become very different when played so organically– some are better for it and some are not, but the overall effect is very powerful and tight.

While Reznor himself is definitely not a guitar hero, Aaron North, the lead guitar on this tour happily takes up the slack and gives an incredible show. North seems the type that gets very invested in the moment and does it with a flare which could easily get him into trouble, especially if someone in the crowd pisses him off…

It was such an excellent night that I’m thinking about going again tomorrow night. I had two tickets which I couldn’t find a buyer for as someone was dumping excess tickets on eBay below cost– probably a scalper who didn’t anticipate the third show being announced… The two tickets were originally for Shelly and Damien (oh the irony) and I gave one of them to my flatmate when I saw I can’t get rid of them. As the door people weren’t even looking at the ticket dates I might as well try to use the remaining ticket tomorrow. I did pay for it, and it is not like tomorrow’s show is sold out…

Props to NIN for a great evening!

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/05/14/personal/nine-inch-nails-at-the-metro-melbourne/feed/ 0 My house from outside http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/29/personal/my-house-from-outside/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/29/personal/my-house-from-outside/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:04:05 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/29/personal/my-house-from-outside/ Just one photo as the inside photos will wait until all the furniture are in place. But here is my house from the outside, click for a bigger picture:

My house from outside

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/29/personal/my-house-from-outside/feed/ 4 Footy! http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/25/personal/footy/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/25/personal/footy/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:10:26 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/25/personal/footy/ Today I went with Thomas (my flatmate), Robin and Ben to the ANZAC day Australian Football League game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where we saw Collingwood (Magpies) battle it out with Essenden (Bombers). Collingwood eventually won 12.23 (95) to 11.13 (79).

This has been my first experience of going to a sports event and it was quite fun. While it is not something I’d be likely to do more than once a year, it was quite an experience. Being part of a 90,000 strong crowd and joining in the chants and calls was fun ;-)

Funnily enough this has been the first sports game I watched more than ten minutes of (even on TV) as I’m not into spectator sports at all…

]]> http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/04/25/personal/footy/feed/ 0 Melbourne again http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/02/28/travel/melbourne-again/ http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/02/28/travel/melbourne-again/#comments Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:31:52 +0000 Tal Rotbart http://www.rationalistic.com/2007/02/28/travel/melbourne-again/ Melbourne is a beautiful city, well laid out and relaxed.

To me, Sydney was much like Los Angeles — seedy and unkempt, with some exceptions such as the Circular Quay, The Rocks area, Annandale, Sydney University and King St. in Newtown. One could enjoy touring the urban decay, but I would not like to live in it. Much in the same way as I can enjoy Bangkok as a tourist but would never consider living there.

Melbourne on the other hand reminds me of Chicago in its architecture but San Francisco’s downtown in its feeling. Even the less appealing suburbs such as North Fitzroy are nicer than your average suburb of Sydney. There’s room on the sidewalk to enjoy the city while walking, not just walk from origin to destination as in Sydney. People here are less about ‘getting there’ and more about enjoying the journey. There are trees everywhere and the air is clearer and less polluted. Less cars on the city roads and almost no busses as the trams serve the same function without the noxious exhaust.

My kind of city.

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