Weird photo collections - manhole covers in Japan

Travelling around the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, Japan we were bowled over by these beautiful drain covers in city streets. These beautiful designs feature motifs or stories from each city. Photos from Kobe, Tokyo, Nagoya, Takayama, Kyoto, Okayama, Nagasaki and Kamakura. Trust the Japanese to put beauty into even sewerage covers.

"King Kong" The Musical Melbourne World Premiere, review

Picture Source: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Unique, groundbreaking, overblown, a mishmash of styles, poignant, ambitious - all of the above. The sheer scale of the production means that Australians will only see this in Melbourne. Who knows whether it will play in Broadway or London. This is no traditional musical comedy. Sometimes you think you are watching a hi tech rock concert spectacular - the incredible mega screens and projections.
It's like Baz Luhrmann has hijacked the proceedings. But for 95% of the time, it works. There are some mind blowing scenes that you won't forget in a hurry. "Full Moon Lullaby" is the standout song. "Rise" sung by the urban prophet of doom (Queenie Van De Zandt) is also good. The first song with its references to the iconic N.Y. skyscaper construction workers photograph (see below) and the German cult film "Metropolis".
The 30's chorus girls motif is overused but this is a minor quibble. Sound (I bet the guests next door at The Westin can hear the performance, especially the BOOMS), lighting, eclectic score, sets, myriad costumes, vocal talent -  all top shelf. Where has Esther Hannaford been? She was Tracy's best friend in "Hairspray". Now the leading lady, Esther Hannaford is a star as AnneDarrow. Her interplay with Kong is compelling.
This is state of the art musical theatre. In two and a half hours you are in midtown New York, on board ship, on Skull Island, backstage, atop the Empire State Building.

Oh.... not forgetting the simian star, Kong. The band of 13 puppeteers got one of the biggest rounds of applause on curtain call. The facial expressions on the mammoth (6 metre tall) beast are incredible. The 15 metre serpent fighting Kong will knock your socks off. The trippy mega screens, undulating stage, creepy Skull Island denizens (crawling from the ceiling), techno music made me think I was at a rave party. This is a new breed of musical theatre.
So many things could have gone wrong - all the cables, moving stages, electronics, hydraulics - this is only a month into its run - everything was flawless.
The clincher is premiering in The Regent, Melbourne's most opulent (1929) picture palace.

A little question: bit surprised about the muted applause after each song, during some of the matinee performance. Was it too loud for the old dears?
Seating tip: get a seat in the centre (to appreciate the trippy projections and screen effects), not too close (we sat 7 rows from the front in the Stalls). Perfect, but first 15 rows in the centre would be good. The Dress Circle balcony starts way back in the auditorium. Last 10 rows of Stalls, beware (the overhang means your view of the top part of stage is obstructed). Google seating plan of The Regent.

"When artisans were real men" Source:Slideshare

Best shows on television in 2013? "Les Revenants" ("The Returned") & "In The Flesh" BBC

One's French! One's English. Both about the undead.
"Les Revenants" ("The Returned"), originally shown in late 2012 on Canal +. Now we get the English (well subtitled) version in 8 parts on Channel 4. It's so good, I'm gobsmacked - makes "Top of the Lake" look like "Home and Away". Beautifully filmed, intricately structured and creepy as Hell. Less is more. Only seen two eps so far.
I will not give anything away. This is no zombie opus. A teenager is scary and unpredictable, so what would a dead teenager be like? Relationships, rather than horror, is the focus here.
Watching the opening titles should be enough to confirm that this is television drama as good as you get.
UPDATE
Watched the final episode. It posed more questions than it answered. After 8 episodes I felt a bit cheated. Have to wait until next year for Series 2.

On the other hand....
The BBC's excellent zombies (or should I say "PDS persons - Partially Deceased Syndrome") mini-series "In the Flesh" was an economical three parter. Highly recommended. Intelligent, poignant and beautifully produced. It deserves to be repeated. Streets ahead of US cable's "The Walking Dead".

"Hannibal" NBC Episode 13 Series 1 final "Savoureux" review, spoilers

Don't expect fast moving action in this series final. This is a mood piece. The beautifully executed final scene between Will and Hannibal (with Mads Mikkelsen's glimmer of a smile). He knows that he knows. And he knows that he knows....
Dr Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) certainly knows heaps about Lecter's past.
No graphic violence, apart from a regurgitated ear in Will's kitchen sink. Toward the end, Will sees Hannibal as the darkly demonic deer creature he has been dreaming of throughout this series - the realisation of who and what Lecter is. Now you realise what Lecter was doing with Will's fishing lures in an early episode.
I suppose some viewers might be getting a bit toey (restless) - waiting for a confrontation. But I think the tension is delicious - as delicious as Hannibal's weekly gourmet treats.
Series 2 must feature the missing Abigail (Kacey Rohl).

It's winter and the ocean is warm - northern beaches, New South Wales, Australia

Byron Bay late June

Just travelled from Sunshine Coast down to Sydney. It's one third into winter and the ocean temperature is 20-21 degrees C. Same story wherever you swim - Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie or as far south as Port Stephens - it's like a bath. The combination between warm ocean temperatures and cooler air temperatures is making the waves bigger too.
In the early morning, as you approach the water's edge you feel a faint warm draught from the ocean mass - spooky. Daytime maximum temperatures in these places: 19-21 degrees C, compared to 12-16 degrees C in Melbourne. Brrrr!

No wetsuit needed. My wetsuit had a lovely holiday in my suitcase, all the way from Melbourne.

"Hannibal" NBC Series 1, Episode 12 "Releves" review

This penultimate episode started with a horrific incineration scene. The comb of death reminded me of the comb the queen/witch/pedlar gives to Snow White in the longer version of the fairy tale.

This series has featured some stunningly conceived set pieces – Will’s surreal dream sequences are highlights. Lots of morphing and weirdly moving/speaking humans(David Lynch “Twin Peaks” territory).

Will (Hugh Dancy) has made the big link between all the copycat killings. But will he be believed? Who was the patient swallowing his tongue with Dr Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson)?  She definitely knows more about Hannibal than anyone else – apart from Abigail, but I don’t think Abigail is long for this world , from watching the final scene.

Jack (Laurence Fishburne) confiding in Hannibal, telling him his latest theories makes for delicious viewing. No, there were no extravagant dinner party scenes this week, except for Chef Lecter brewing up some exotic, but medicinal chicken soup for the disturbed Will.

Gillian Anderson is much in demand on telly at the moment. She seems to have the sexy, but knowing ice queen down pat, if you have seen BBC’s “The Fall” series. Note the lush greenery feature wall in the female psychiatrist’s office (similar to Hannibal’s dining room).  A link or just the style of the set designer?

Liked it when she tells her patient, Lecter, that he needs to “maintain the boundaries”.  Just when you think the FBI is getting closer to cracking the case, the cool, unflappable Hannibal is one step ahead, playing his trump card: Poor Will. Perhaps not that poor – he can afford Business Class seats for 2 (his misguided jaunt with Abigail).

Looking forward to final episode of Series 1.  

How to get max page views on your blog (I jest)

I reviewed the "Da Vinci's Demons" episode, the one with the well-endowed chap in the Renaissance-styled sauna. Should have seen the page views, top stats for the month.  I didn't insert an image or video clip (paranoid about copyright infringements). Anyway, big dongers are a hit.
It seems the posts you spend a lot of time on often have the least page views. I should tag "dicks" more often. Perhaps I'll try boobs and bums next.

Port Stephens, Australia - let's keep this place a secret

Port Stephens is about 2.5 hour drive north from Sydney. It seems to be a secret only the locals know about.  People from New South Wales holiday there, but few interstate or overseas tourists. 

Fishing, whale watching (winter), surfing, bushwalking though national parks and rugged coastal scenery, dolphin watching (year round).  Just walking around a local track 5 minutes from our accommodation, we saw a dolphin dart out of the water. 

Quiet harbours and inlets, clear water, powder white sand, stunning sunrises, picturesque headlands, bushland, native birds galore.  A surprising lack of litter (unlike many resorts, especially Asia – the curse of the plastic bags and bottles).

As Dale Kernigan from “The Castle” would say, “How’s the serenity?”