It’s Saturday morning and I’m listening to a bit of jazz on the new ABC Digital Service, Dig Jazz which I think is very good. It’s music to my ears!

I’ve been meaning to update this diary for a couple of weeks, but have been dealing with a procrastination problem, both at work and in my own life… although I have been busy in both regards. I’ve also overcome the procrastination.

I did a brave thing this week… I went to a Bloggers meeting. Although I’m normally quite shy I decided it was time to throw caution to the wind to meet some new people, so I went along to a Sydney Bloggers Meeting. I thought it was heaps of fun. Loved the conversation. Loved the pool (not swimming). And Newtown was a good spot for me, due to its proximity to work and home. Four people, including myself turned up, Glen, Mark and Amanda. Amanda has a country music blog while Mark and Glen write about all kinds of stuff. They were really nice people and we had heaps of fun.

Also had a meeting last weekend of the Hawkesbury One group, the art group which I’m part of. Held on the Central Coast, closer to Newcastle, we enjoyed lunch, chatted and overlooked Lake Macquarie which was spectacular.

Kate was also in town this week and we caught up on Wednesday night when she stayed at my place. She’s very excited at the moment because her son, Tom, is in a band, Combat Wombat, that’s beginning to have success. Their music is terrific.

Combat Wombat’s first single Qwest has shot to No.2 in JJJ’s Net 50 from out of the blue. It dissapeared last week but this week shot in at no.2. Qwest is currently on medium rotation JJJ. So you know what to do. vote again and lets see if week can hit the top spot. To vote for this saturday’s Net 50 click here. don’t forget to include your phone number otherwise they don’t count it. Cheers

Their CD will have its launch in a couple of weeks time at the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills. As they play reggae influenced hip-hop, Kate and I spent the night wondering how we could be inconspicuous at the launch. Dress in black, don’t dance too much…

Speaking of music… one of the things I’m looking forward to about next week is going to see Bette Midler perform live at the Superdome. Colin and I are going to see this. Actually we’re becoming quite the theatre-goers. As well as Bette, we’re going to see Tim Draxl live in a couple of weeks and we’ve also seen a few plays together.

Last week, for example, we went to see a show at Bar Me called Dot By Dot With Sondheim, a cabaret which combines the work of Dorothy Parker and Stephen Sondheim. Colin and I found out about this production while attending a terrific play at The Stables called Strangers In Between. During intermission we got to chatting with a woman who was in the show called Buster Skeggs who seemed absolutely lovely. We exchanged cards and a few days later a brochure for the production arrived. The basic premise for this production was that the words (and wit) of Sondheim and Parker would combine well to construct a narrative about a couple before and after their marriage. Like Sondheim, Parker, who famously attempted and then committed suicide, has work which ranges the gamut of emotions… though not as she famously said, “the gamut of emotions from A to B”. Sondheim also has work which ranges from the beautiful “Another Hundred People” which I’ve loved since I first heard it sung by Jodie Gillies to the terrific spoof on “The Girl From Ipanema” called “The Boy From … a little Spanish town called Tacarimba La Tumba Del Fuego Santa Maliga Sacategas Lo Onto Del Sol Y Cruz.” The vocal performances ranged from ok to excellent… this show worked in so many ways.

And then on Wednesday night, Colin and I went to see a play at The Ensemble Theatre called The Violet Hour. The premise for the play is that in 1919, a fledgling publisher John Pace Seavering has two manuscripts, but lacks the funds to publish both. The difficult choice he faces is further complicated by the arrival of a machine which magically prints books from the future, including ones which deal with his life. With such a premise, the notion of a clear and consistent narrative goes out the window. This was a play about the mind and notions of reality posing the underlying question “if you knew what would happen in the future, would you make different choices?”. I found the first half of the play intriguing, but also a little annoying as it sometime descended into pretentiousness. In dealing with the intellect, the play sometimes forgets the humanity of the characters. By the second half, however, this was corrected. There was also a particularly funny exchange about modern academia. There was only one occasion where I lost interest. By the end, however, I was satisfied and thought it was a good theatre experience.

And that’s a life update…