Apple Store Fifth Avenue

According to an ABS study released in 1997, only 35.2% of Australians consider Architecture and Design to be consider part of “the arts”. (What’s possibly more interesting this is higher for young adults, and lower for 55s+) Perhaps this is because architecture is such a large part of corporate image now. Take the new Fifth Avenue Apple store for instance.

My only concern is what if someone (like Steph, for instance) walks dog poo down the glass stairs (not pictured), and the entire population of the store looks up and witnesses the brown smudges trapping them in. There is a reason escalators have those worn, tattered brushes limping over the metal grating as it rotates back into the front line of duty.

I apologise for my blogging being a little ‘blogged up’ recently. This week is the last week of uni classes for the semester and I’ve got a shoot-load of work to get done, including a rather rancid 5000 word essay. And yes I double checked and there is no decimal place anywhere in that figure.

Despite this, I managed to take the time out from my hectic procrastination to watch Lolita (the Kubrick version) on DVD. It was a little frightening, being so open about the relationship between the daughter and her stepdad, but definately worth the 2 and a half hours to watch it. Peter Sellers was absolutely on the ball as usual with his incomprehensibly complex characterisations. I also started to watch Murder On The Orient Express which came through on Quickflix, but my conscience took over at some point and I turned it off to do some work.

It’s only a handful of days now until Shock Treatment sees it’s release, so I’ll have to start digging around for a copy on bittorrent hoping someone randomly mails a perfectly legal copy of the DVD to my doorstep. Oh well, when they release it in Australia, I’ll get it, but until then I’ll be doing a little dirty work.

I’m going to try to get a haircut by Monday even though I was expressly told by the hair and makeup ladies not to, but there is no way my hair is staying uncut for another two months. By the time the show comes around I’ll have hair around my knees if I don’t get it cut, and it’s best to get it cut sooner rather than later.

Other than that, not much else is happening. I listed my beloved iBook on eBay. It has a rather high price on it (although it comes with a lot of extra stuff), but if it sells I’ll fork out the difference to buy a new MacBook, if it doesn’t, I’m stuck with it most likely until the end of the year.

So remember, sit tight, and I’ll see you all in a few days (hopefully).

I was just making some toast as a midnight snack (quite literally), when not once but twice did the kitchen start smelling like the Year 10 boys were cooking breakfast on camp. Now, this particular toaster, I am assured, cost quite a chunk of money. It’s the size of a small oven, yet only toasts two slices of bread at a time. The rest of the space is taken up by decorative glass paneling and small wood trim. Apparently a little of something costs a lot more than a lot of something. Yet somehow, in spite of it’s aesthetic beauty, smoke poured out of the top twice due to two crumbs getting stuck on the elements. I tried knocking the toaster, to no avail. My second thought was “I’ll just stick the knife in there to knock them off”, but suddenly images of Benita sticking a plastic fork into a Corn Flakes box covered in aluminium foil with two sponges sticking out came racing through my head. “Remember kids, knifes do not go in toasters!”

I ended up making a filthy amount of toast because we had the beautiful thick Bakers’ Delight white bread and a brand new jar of vegemite, sided with a glass of coconut and pineapple juice. Zoe often protests against the amount of food I eat in the middle of the night, but at least she’ll be happy I left the chocolate cake alone tonight.

Being only 7 days away from the UK release of Shock Treatment on DVD, I thought I’d try to dig around and see what info I can come up with.

For those who don’t know the film, it’s an extraordinarily strange film musical from 1981 utilising two characters (but more actors) from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Composed by the same man, Richard O’Brien, it (sort of) tells the story of Brad and Janet, now married and experiencing marriage difficulties being sucked into a television studio as the town around them (Denton, of course) becomes absorbed by reality television to the point where they sleep in the studio. Brad is taken off to be given ‘therapy’ by actors posing as doctors (Riff Raff and Magenta from RHPS), as Janet and her family become reality TV celebrities. There are some very unusual parallels with contemporary television culture, even to the point where a family’s entire life is portrayed on television.

On top of that, the soundtrack is a ripper, mostly 80s punk rock-ish. It’s not my usual genre, so I’m not great at classifying it, but it’s fun with numbers like “Bitchin’ In The Kitchen”, “Little Black Dress”, and “Anyhow, Anyhow”. Cast wise, it features Jessica Harper as Janet, Cliff de Young as both Brad, and the man who manipulates Janet in some very clever (and convincing) double casting. Hanging on from Rocky Horror are Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray and Nell Campbell (Little Nell). Other roles are equally interesting, being filled by Ruby Wax (now famous comedian), Rik Mayall (pre-The Young Ones), and Barry Humphries (Dame Edna herself).

It has always been a bit of an exclusively cult film with only die-hard fans of Rocky Horror seeking it out. Imagine my joy as a 13-year old Rocky Horror fan, of finding a very worn VHS copy in the second Video Ezy I tried. I made a dub copy of it (with woeful quality), which I then lent and lost about 6 years ago. I haven’t seen the film since. DVD dubs of the VHS used to show up on eBay, but they seem to have stopped with the official release imminent. Retail VHS and Japanese Laserdisc copies demand high prices on eBay. Thankfully the soundtrack is readily available. Many years ago (pre-Amazon) I ordered my copy of the CD through a local music store who managed to get it in pretty quickly. A friend also gave me his vinyl copy of it, including the rare Cosmo McKinley face mask included.

I tried to find some details on the upcoming UK DVD release, which unfortunately is paired with Rocky Horror. Considering most of the people who would want Shock Treatment would already have Rocky Horror, it’s just a cash cow for Fox. In addition to standard edition, there is a Collector’s edition, packaged in a giant “lip” packaging with the two-disc RHPS, single disc Shock Treatment and the soundtrack CD plus some comics and things.

Apparently it has already been released in Italy on DVD, and rumours are abound that it will be due in Australia in the not too distant future, but have not been confirmed.

I wonder when I finally track down a copy, if it will be at all worth it?

I just posted this review on an Australian theatre website. Unlike others, I used my real name.

I too saw last night’s performance of Oliver and found it to be severely deficient in so many areas.

Firstly, the production intensly lacked direction on Mr. Kernagahn’s part. I often felt sorry for the cast members, particular the boy playing Oliver, not out of empathy for the character, but rather for complete lack of direction. During his first number some fifteen minutes into the show (the first time an audience member applauded), the boy had little to do but stand sing the song downstage centre, with one singular hand gesture at the climax (apparently only signified by the movement itself). At other times, I wondered whether the direction was intentionally misleading, such as a chorus member throwing metallic-looking confetti over the group. Another example was the three ‘backup singers’ who appeared in black, miming singing, pretending to have earpieces in.

Overall the show was lacking consideration for the audience. At times I had no idea what was going on because the blocking was so terrible that it blocked the action. I missed the shooting of Bill Sykes entirely, and any dialogue or song lyrics delivered side stage were completely lost.

Instead of using live musicians, backing tracks were used. In a city full of talented musicians, there seemed little use for backing tracks. Unless the tracks are incredibly realistic, or achieve some artistic effect unavailable through the use of live musicians, there seems little excuse. In this production, the backing tracks were of sub-poor standard, sounding like the MIDI files downloaded from the internet had been rendered on a Casio keyboard. The music was lifeless, arrangements inconsistent (often with a very annoying melody guide track still plonked out), and too often the tempi were far too slow. The actors were clearly struggling with the timings, and I have no reason to believe that a single person on a piano would not have been infinitely more pleasing to the audience. Perhaps Aaron had difficulty finding one willing to play for him.

While the cast were performing to the best of their ability, many of them needed more (any?) guidance in their performance, which ranged from sensitive and convincing (Oliver, Nancy and Fagin), to over-the-top and offensive.

Finally, and most importantly, I feel the original source material was treated with little respect. Changes to the script were damaging to the performance, and overall the show’s material did not receive the attention it deserved by the creative team.

Having worked with Aaron previously, and having been an audience member on several occassions, I am disappointed productions of this quality are continuing to happen from this team. Not only is it disrespectful to the actors and other people involved, it is distressing to the audience, and has the potential to do serious damage to the reputation of local theatre.