iPhone 4S Issues

In March I decided to lash out and purchase a new iPhone 4S. Last Wednesday I upgraded the operating system software… And that’s where my troubles began. Since then I have had no sound. I can’t hear people who I ring and Those who ring me, I can’t even hear the bloody thing ring. There’s no sound on any of the apps or games either.

Today I took the phone to Chadstone to repair. First I went to Vodafone where the ‘nerd’ pretended it was an unusual problem. (It ain’t, there are hundreds of pages at Apple’s online forum dedicated to this issue!) he said he could send it to the Vodafone tech but that would take between 5-10 working days to get my phone repaired.  I then went to the Apple Store where the tech again feigned disbelief at this problem. It couldn’t possibly be the software upgrade that caused this issue! Do they think I’m stupid? Do they think I wouldn’t have checked the Internet to see if anyone else has had this problem?

Anyway I have made an appointment to see a tech tomorrow to repair the phone. I think the phone is great when it works but to have a problem like this is unacceptable. They better repair the phone to my satisfaction, but I must say I’m not impressed.

English: own work (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I see that Melbourne supporters are blaming their coach Mark Neeld for their woeful performances this so far year. This is really unfair as the problem runs much deeper than the coach and has more to do with their administration and previous coach. The problem is that the Demons have been terrible for a long time. As I said on Facebook 12 months ago when I watched both Collingwood and Melbourne training on adjacent ovals, watching the Dees was like watching the local under 12s in comparison to the professionalism of the Pies. The Pies were running through complex drills whilst Melbourne was playing kick to kick and goal kicking practice.

The problems as I see it has to do with their poor recruiting and the fact that Neeld has come from Collingwood where tactics, accountability and discipline, two things Melbourne has been lacking for so long, and tried to bring these things to the Demons. From some reports the senior players have rejected Neeld for this, which I guess means that to be honest they don’t deserve the opportunity to play AFL football. I think that Melbourne’s current predicament reflects more on former coach Dean Bailey than anything else.

One of the biggest critics of Neeld has been David King, who was a successful player with North Melbourne, but has never been a senior AFL coach. He was an assistant to Richmond coach Terry Wallace a few years ago and we know how well the Tigers did during those years. King has applied for several coaching jobs since Richmond gave him the flick but no one has been willing to even give him a second glance.

 

Lenny Kravitz @ Federation Square

Melbourne Motorshow

Last Friday I attended the Melbourne Motorshow.I received a free ticket from some kid whose friend did not turn up. (Saved me $20)
The Motorshow was good, and I enjoyed seeing the Porsche 935 long tail (Moby Dick) but was disappointed that there were only two Italian marques in attendance in Lamborghini and Maserati. (I like Italian cars)
What I didn’t understand were the people milling around the Holden stand wanting to get their photo taken with the latest HSV Commodore. Then again I don’t understand people driving Holdens either.

Defryme – Audrey

Remember Defryme from the mid-90s with Sanity, Mama Said Knock You Out and Purekiller?  I think I saw Defryme once at the Espy, cannot remember too much about it as most times in the mid-90s when I was at the Espy I was a little bit (a lot actually) inebriated.

I know I did see the other Melbourne Def band out at the time, Def FX with Fiona Horne, when they were supporting Boom Crash Opera at the Manhatten (I think) in Ringwood. Deb Conway was also on the bill that night and verbally abused the audience for not giving her enough appaluse. I’d never heard a lady use such profanity! Good times!!!

Anyway not only have Boom Crash Opera reunited for a tour, but so has Defryme. They also have a new song. They’ll be playing at the Portland Hotel in Russell Street on July 9th at 9pm.

I also know one of the members in the band, Michael on the bass, who was married to my sister. Despite the awkward click he does at the start of the clip he is a pretty cool guy. (Just don’t tell him I said that!)

Melbourne International Animation Festival – UPA Showcase

Today the Melbourne International Animation Festival begins at ACMI and there is one part of the program that I am very excited about and really looking forward to seeing. Every year the MIAF has at least one retrospective on animation history, and this year they have chosen one of my favourite studios from the golden age of animation in UPA. I have previously made posts about UPA, which you can find here.

There are three different programs for UPA, with the first being next Friday evening. The first one features the cartoons Blues Patterns, Outlaws, Mr Charmley Greet A Lady, Be Quiet, Kind, And Gentle,  The Lost Duchess, Madeline, The Jaywalker, Bringing Up Mother, The Wonder Gloves, Christopher Crumpet, and Rooty Toot Toot. Of these I have only seen Madeline, Christopher Crumpet and Rooty Toot Toot, so it should be an interesting evening.

Program 2 is on Saturday evening and features some of the more well-known UPA cartoons as well as some of their earliest work. Hell Bent For Election was the first UPA cartoon made, directed by Warner Bros. Chuck Jones as a favour to the fledgling studio, it was made to help re-elect Franklin Roosevelt as president of the USA. Brotherhood of Man is another industrial cartoon made for the auto workers union to help ease the desegregation of that industry. It seems quite strange today that some people needed a film to tell them that black and white people could live and work together. Flat Hatting was made for the US Navy (I think) as an instructional film of what not to do for the pilots. Then there are the classic commercial cartoons they made such as The Magic Fluke, starring the Fox and the Crow, Gerald McBoing Boing, one of my all-time favourites, The Unicorn In The Garden, Fudget’s Budget and the interesting and gloomy The Tell Tale Heart. I have seen all of these films with the except of Flat Hatting and Fudget’s Budget, but it will be the first time I have seen any of these on the big screen, which I am really looking forward to.

Program 3 is on Saturday afternoon and features UPA’s only really well-known character in Mr Magoo. This is a good cross-section of Magoo’s theatrical cartoons and features The Ragtime Bear, his first cartoon, Trouble Indemnity, Barefaced Flatfoot, Hotsy Footsy, Magoo Express and When Magoo Flew.

All in all it promises to be a very good time and I cannot wait to go. More information can be found at the MIAF website.

Werribee Zoo

Today I went to Werribee Zoo. I thought I would take advantage of my Myki, which charges only $3 for transport to any zone on the weekend. (However at the end of the day nothing has been charged to my Myki!)

I took lots of photos, perhaps too many. It was difficult taking some of the pictures, as I had to zoom in as much as possible on occasion, so they turned out blurred.

I enjoyed Werribee Zoo very much. Unlike Melbourne Zoo it was not crowded. In fact it was quite empty in comparison. There weren’t as many animals at Werribee, but that gives you more time to wander around. If in the morning one of the animals cannot be seen because they are hiding, you can always come back in the afternoon and see them, unlike at Melbourne Zoo where there are so many animals that you need the whole day to catch them all. The bus trip, through the open range part of the zoo, where we got to see the rhinos, zebras, giraffes and hippos, as well as other animals, was very good too. The driver was extremely educational and informative. All in all it was a very good and enjoyable day.

Docklands

Yesterday morning I ventured to Docklands’ Waterfront City. As usual it was quite empty, with the exception of a couple of tumble weeds that were seen blowing across the vast empty space there. Docklands would be a nice place if there were people there!

Anyway I have posted some of these statues before. I think I posted the Graham Kennedy and Dame Edna ones a while back. Now I add the Kylie Minogue, Dame Nellie Melba and John Farnham ones to the collection. There’s also a T-rex there. I think there may be a show featuring animatronic dinosaurs going on at the moment.

Football – Queen’s Birthday – Melbourne vs Collingwood at the MCG

Yesterday I ventured to the MCG to watch my first games of footy live for about a dozen years or so. In fact the last game that I went to was in 1998 at Princes Park between Carlton and Melbourne. (The Dees won that game by 2 points!) I have wanted to go to games since then but it has been very difficult. I know that this is no excuse, but I do work every Friday night and every second Saturday. Add to this the fact that ‘P’ has never really shown much of an interest in going to the footy and she’d never want to see a Collingwood match as she’s a Carlton supporter (boo!!!).

Yesterday after finishing work in the morning, I rushed home to have a shower and get ready. I then walked to the MCG. Along the way I bought myself some bottled water and a sandwich to haveat the game.

Things have changed since I last went to a match. Back then the reserves used to play before the big game. I remember watching these games and seeing guys such as Saverio Rocca play their first games in the black and white. Yesterday we had a lame pop concert instead. Russell Roberston sang a couple of songs as did My Friend the Chocolate Cake and the new group formed by Jesse and Ella from Killing Heidi. We also had Nick MacCallum doing crappy interviews on the boundary line. I really miss watching the reserves game.

The game itself was unremarkable. The Pies weren’t great but still smashed the hapless Dees. Collingwood had a couple of brilliant periods at the end of the second and final quarters, but too many of the players tried to be too fancy, whilst others did not seem to be working hard enough.

Travis Cloke played well, kicking six goals, while Cameron Wood did a very good job in the ruck. Andrew Krakouer did a couple of good things in the forward line and Leon Davis was pretty good as well (although he was one who tried to be too fancy at times). Sharrod Wellingham was brilliant too. Leigh Brown took a very good mark but did not do much else, whilst Alan Didak seems to be injured or out of form, as every time he disposed the ball it went to an opposition player

Melbourne played horribly. They showed poor skills and even worse decision-making. Their game plan was too predictable and they were very soft as well. I am not sure why their coach Dean Bailey is not under the pump even more than he is. I can see why some people would like Mick Malthouse to coach Melbourne next season.

I filmed this and it gives an insight into just how high up I was sitting. The camera work is a bit shonky, but not that far behind what Channel 7 serve up.

Circus Time

Roll up, roll up, to the greatest show on Earth.

Last Sunday I took a trip to Melton (which was an adventure itself) to watch the 2pm show of the Perry Brothers Circus. The last time I went to the circus was about a decade ago. I think it was Circus Royale that I saw on that occasion, and that they were still using wild animals. I have fond memories of visiting Ashton’s Circus with my Grandfather and my Dad back in the late 70s and early 80s, when they would pitch their big top at the Burnley Oval. Back then they definitely did use animals, and I remember wandering around looking at the elephants, lions, tigers and other wild animals.

When I attended Perry Brothers the first thing that can to my mind was how small the big top was. As a kid I always remembered the circus tent as being huge, but maybe that was because back then I looked at the circus through a child’s eyes and to a child everything is huge. Then again, as I said earlier, I last attended the circus ten or so years ago, when I was in my twenties, and I still remember it as being bigger back then too. The circus tent itself looked as though it had seen better days. There were a few small holes in the top of the big top.

These days wild animals are no longer used in the circus shows. We no-longer get the opportunity to see elephants, lions, tigers or other wild beasts perform. Perry’s do have Saigon, the last of the circus elephants, who usually travels around with the troupe but is retired from performing, but she was not at Melton on Sunday. I guess she was back at the Perry’s property, away from the spotlight and the controversy caused after an unfavourable Herald Sun article last year. I would have liked to have seen Saigon there, as I just love to watch elephants. I can, and have, sit for hours at the Melbourne Zoo just watching the elephants.

The acts at the circus were quite a mixed bag. There was lots of juggling, hoop twirling and wire walking but no trapeze, which I guess is something that is very much associated with circuses. Many of the acts made slight mistakes but these were not all that noticeable to most of the audience and easily corrected. The acts that were the most popular were of course the clowns. Firstly there was Oscar and his comedy cycling, then Brody the Clown, who generated lots of laughs from both adults and children.

Overall it was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. I’m not sure if I would ever travel as far as Melton again to watch Perry’s Circus, but if they travel a bit closer to the city I would highly recommend seeing them. At just $15 for an adult ticket it is very good value for money.