Notices by Tim Richards (timrichards@aus.social)

@multiverseofbadness I've noticed that from the perspective of a pedestrian. I assume those idiots are on their phones.

Thoroughly recommend this movie and the subsequent TV series, about the challenges facing a team working in a fine dining restaurant in London. Tense at times! The initial movie is one long 90-minute shot, which is a thing of beauty. In Australia you can see Boiling Point on SBS on Demand.

https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/movie/boiling-point/2245293635835

#tv

Seriously, don’t bother visiting the US until 2029. That's my advice. Plenty of fascinating and more welcoming countries out there.

#travel https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/entering-the-us-has-become-more-fraught-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-20250407-p5lpny.html

@skinnylatte I like your approach. I was in hospital a couple of years ago and got a hot tip on an Ethiopian restaurant from a staff member working there.

This book sounds interesting.

Review of 'Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist' by Liz Pelly.
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/how-spotify-s-techno-capitalism-is-stamping-on-the-face-of-humanity-20250403-p5lowg.html

RIP Kerry Greenwood, author of the Phryne Fisher books.

#book #books #Melbourne https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/kerry-greenwood-author-behind-miss-fisher-s-murder-mysteries-dies-at-70-20250407-p5lpoc.html

I wouldn't want to be a PR person promoting travel to the US right now. Very unappealing.

"Across the globe foreign visitors and their governments are now asking just how welcome travellers really are in the States these days. The land of the free could be morphing into a home for only the braver tourist."

#travel #USA https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/an-australian-was-denied-us-entry-for-bizarre-reasons-he-s-not-alone-20250403-p5lov8.html

Had fun visiting Masak Masak in the remotest inland bit of Yarraville yesterday - joined @sister_ratched and @rowangrigg for lunch there. Great food, looked good and tasted good. :)

Cc @nihilistnomya @skinnylatte

So well put by George Monbiot. Applies to our tepid Labor government here in Australia too. People don’t want to be regarded only as economic units, and if you block leftist reform they reach for hard-right chaos.

"The democratic recession does not begin when a far-right party takes office. It begins when a centrist party crushes hope in democracy. When Keir Starmer’s government takes a chainsaw to people’s aspirations for a fairer, greener, kinder country, he cuts off not just faith in the Labour party but faith in politics itself. The almost inevitable result, as countries from the US to the Netherlands, Argentina to Austria, Italy to Sweden show, is to let the far right in."

#UKpol #USpol #auspol https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/28/fascism-britain-neoliberalism-opened-door-for-it-labour

New at my Patreon... At the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival we visited pop-up events celebrating two diverse foodstuffs - fancy baked goods and the humble Aussie dim sim:

#australia #food #Melbourne https://web.internal.patreon.com/_ssr_data/posts/dateline-art-of-125417406

The "True Size" site is a fascinating way of comparing the actual size of countries. Here's Australia, superimposed on Europe - showing Cairns to Perth is similar to the distance from Moscow to Madrid.

#australia #europe #map #maps

@skinnylatte Come straight to Melbourne, cut out the middleman ;)

Spoiler: It's not your mum.
---
'Hi Mum' scam continues to trick parents three years on from first texts reported in Australia https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-26/hi-mum-scam-texts-rise-public-education/105095266

#scam #scams

New at my Patreon... Within the Tin Shed at the Clunes Booktown Festival, I interview well-known ABC TV presenter Heather Ewart about her new book based on the TV series Back Roads:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/124898708

#book #books #festival #clunes #tv #travel #ClunesBookTown

@skinnylatte Does hell have good food though? ;)

Nice idea - trying to bring back marine life to Port Phillip Bay:

"We sail out into the bay to start repairing the damage. Andy and Scott Breschkin are divers and scientists – and today, they are testing a world-first experiment to repair our bay and others like it.

"Our vessel is a 35-year-old retired abalone boat. We have four white bottles of air, two yellow hoses, and a captain named Will Morgan. As we sail out from Black Rock Jetty, he pulls up his buff so all we can see is his sunglasses, which reflect endless grey-blue.

"The plan: head to the most damaged, denuded part of the bay, and try to make life grow anew. The spot is easy to pick – a dump site. Nature Conservancy Australia, the charity for whom Andy and Scott work, plan to build a new shellfish reef on top of it."

#Melbourne #nature https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-restaurant-leftovers-are-playing-a-role-in-audacious-bid-to-bring-life-back-to-port-phillip-bay-20250305-p5lh4l.html

Just finished writing an article, so I'm grabbing a quick coffee at Brother Baba Budan. Busy on the public holiday!

#Melbourne #coffee #cafe #AmDrinking #AmWriting

It was @NarrelleMHarris's 60th birthday the other day, so some of her overseas writer friends arranged for the delivery of this balloon and flowers. Sweet. Still holding up (both of them)!

#birthday

Tried a new alcohol-free beer the other day at the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne. Tasted good, and I like the very Aussie label. :)

#beer #Melbourne #birds #birb

Bloody hell this was good. Just had breakfast at Zeppelin Kitchen (great name) in North Brighton.

This is their Szechuan Chilli Eggs with Chilli Oil, Szechuan Chilli & Peanut Sauce, Fresh Chilli, Crispy Shallots, Spring Onion, Bean Shoots, Coriander, served with Ssamjang Sauce on Seeded Sourdough with Sesame Mushrooms. Very tasty.

#breakfast #brunch #Melbourne cc @LifeTimeCooking @sister_ratched @skinnylatte