Election day in Victoria. Hope the candidates have been put through their paces, done the hard yards and are ready for the verdict. And then of course there's the aftermath
(Images from a fabulous catalogue of burlesque stunts and paraphenalia for freemasons. via boing boing)

whoops we forgot it was buy nothing day. (via mcb) Does buying a couple of books and a jacket from the op shop count? I hope being ( a constant) part of the "recycling" loop is jamming enough? Anyway- it's dollar day. Nothing can keep Boynton away...
More retro delight. Hostesses at Expo 67(via Portage)

2 links for 2 friends
Nora this one's got your name written on it (via Lindsay Marshall)


A friend whose name shall be Max
Likes his facts
I hope whenever he’s next logged on
He’ll see I’ve thrown in a bit about Ogden
(We were recently talking round the time-line of that popular poet
Only we didn’t know it)

When worlds collide... Boynton was anonymously enjoying a quaff and another game of trivia when she noticed an adjacent table-full of writerly theatrebods (who won by one!) Methinks it was the fizz and not the old dramaturg talking when she proclaimed:"blogs are the future"... but anyway guys, here's the chess article that I mentioned. (via aldaily)

Some time ago Boynton spent hours (in surftime) trying to track down an image of a retro supermarket, with a rocket, of the kind she grew up with in outer suburban Melbourne. Now she's not only got the whole site devoted to supermarket history (via Pop Culture Junk mail), but belatedly discovered the terminology for the architecture and ethos. Until today we thought Googie was an actress with an Australian husband. Now we see it's the post-war style that Boynton has always had a thing for. When she was a child it was the old Sunseeker motel sign on Phillip Island that seemed to be the epitome of exotic holiday. She heard BarryHumphries on 774 on Tuesday saying that to remember landmarks past is not to mourn, but simply (and importantly) to "note". Applied nostalgia. Boynton wishes she lived in LA so she could visit this B&B, drink cocktails, listen to Sergio and play Stockmarket! Memo to colleagues: see my old business idea for a "retro caravan park" was not so dumb afterall! Boynton used to share this dream over dinner with actors who talked up worm-farms, and was always greeted with a glazed, bemused silence.

Boynton was walking with her four year old nephew around the Botanic gardens this morning. Last time he wanted every sign read out in full, with the Latin, and no fobbed off paraphrasing. This time he wanted to monitor the vistor map, and our relative place on it. This was easier to fake. The signs told us we were heading for the Separation Tree. Try explaining that colonial concept to a 4 year old. "It's a special tree" Boynton suggested limply, as we reached the sign. "It says congratulations!" he announced. As she laughed, Boynton wondered how many couples have been married in the vicinity of this old gum.

No actually not an ex of Boynton's, just the Xmas bloke. (Ho ho ho. via Plep) A nice blast of christmas past and it's not even December yet. Boynton noticed the bon-bons blossoming in Safeway around Cup Day! While that's of course customary, the Salvos had their tree up in the local op shop a day or so earlier. You kind of think they'd know their dates. We sang Silent night very quietly last Tuesday at niece's school, the teacher apologising for premature carolling. The stretching of the consumer fest seems to create an un-season. Here's a sort of virtual Chris Chringle going (bah humbug) In this spirit, Boynton has already chosen suitable gifts for her personal wish-list cart.

On blogs. (a fully-closed media ecosystem. An "engine of addiction". John Hiler) Good report on recent Yale conference on blogging. More threads at Public Opinion.. And Deckchairs on The Titanic points to an article on finding blogs.

Update: How's this for nice little Hardy twist. Bomb out of pub "puzzle 'n guzzle" and miss the last five minutes of 24...tape ran out...we're staying tuned...marooned...

Tough call. Whether to stay in and watch final 24 in real time, or contest pub trivia in beer time? If the latter prevails, Boynton's team should be studying the periodic table. A whole cafeteria/nest/antique showroom (of tables) is on offer here. (via The Presurfer) Among Boynton's faves - poetry and haiku versions

Yesterday whilst searching for Thomas Hardy stumbled upon this site. Que? Why does the animated gif of a campfire seem not quite conducive to some casual literary chat? Would a Wessex style background with some rustic furnishings help? Boynton was going to compose an appropriate Hardyesque post, all unhappy fate and undelivered messages, when she happened upon a genuine posting of this type.

Douglas didn't want to get up today. Just couldn't see the point. Didn't remember breakfast until he could see it. We've both got to work on our respective mind-sets. He's got to do more word games and puzzles, and Boynton's got to attend to her fatalism. Came across an article on Hardy's brand of fate by chance. The journal is Brick edited by Michael Ondaatje and Linda Spalding. Also here was a good article on digital poetry. Boynton had been reading one of her favourite Ondaatje poems last night, found it was on the web (but one should of course buy the book. )