Well, i'm officially one week off from being on the road. San Diego Comic Con '09 or bust! (I need to make that sign for the car.) I've moved on a bit from the "general planning and getting a clue about Comic Con" to "seeking out every nugget of information I possibly can about panels and events" mode. Twitter's been really great for this, all sorts of people have news/linking accounts with stuff that's useful. I've got quite a bit in my SDCC spreadsheet already and the schedule's not even officially out yet.

It better start filtering out today or I might go nuts though. I need to plan more! MORE!! My head is swimming with the magnitude of the event already and I don't know how i'll possibly see everything I want to.

But before I can worry too much about that, we have the "getting there" road trip part to get through! I have no idea what to expect out of this part of the trip either, so it's going to be interesting and hopefully not too overwhelming. Our route there is pretty much this, and on the way back we're taking a different route. I never thought i'd see so much of the States, but I guess when you have the chance you may as well.

I am all at once unbelievably excited and extremely anxious about this whole trip - the huge amount of driving/sight seeing, the Comic Con part, the seeing my friends, the saying goodbye again, the crazy stuff i'll see..

And then back to Toronto, for who knows how long. If my job hunting luck stays the same, I may end up home sooner than I think. I need to work on some kind of plan instead of bumbling along like I am now. That can wait until after the epic trip of nerding, however.

Not sure how much i'll be blogging during the trip. I'll more than likely be twittering if I can sort out a phone number for the USA (hopefully can get a quick'n'cheap SIM card, but I don't know how it works down there). May even get a chance to throw up some photos, especially during the con.

I better start thinking about charging camera batteries, getting together supplies and caffeinated boosts, because one week is not that long! Time to hustle.

Now, moving right along..

If you're thinking about going to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I wouldn't bother. There are little to no redeeming features about this film. Seriously, all I can think of is maybe the design and animation of the robots, and the British jet Transformer who is kinda awesome. The rest of it is a huge pile of barely-edited rubbishy story bollocks. I mean, I don't mind a bit of action-y blockbuster on the occasion (I sat through Terminator Salvation, after all), but I feel definitely duped after having watched Transformers: Revenge of the Douchebags.

[edited to add: actually, I recall one thing that bugged me specifically about the setting in the latter part of the movie. i'm not sure if it's just that i'd grown tired of everything by then and missed something key to explain this, or whether it was poorly edited, or whether the film makers have no idea.. But did they really situate the Pyramids of Giza at that point in the Red Sea where they had to go? Because.. that's not where they are. And I don't think you can see Petra from the Pyramids of Giza, either. If someone can explain this at all to me, I would be happy. I am bothered, as they say.]

Listen to Ebert! Honestly! If you think you need further convincing, this Transformers 2 FAQ/cry for help is a good start. The piece that takes the cake, though, is this io9 piece (I hesitate to call it a review - it's mostly therapeutic for those who have actually seen the film!). "And every single performance is so ridiculous that it looks down on "over the top" as if from a great height" and "You could easily argue that cinema, as an artform, has all been leading up to this. It will destabilize your limbic system, probably forever, and make you doubt the solidity of your surroundings" are good samples.


And just for the hell of it, Cracked gives us storyboards from Michael Bay's The Great Gatsby. Oh yes.

I miss England. London, specifically. I guess i've not really given it a proper chance here yet and we'll wait and see, but i'm feeling homesick for London. I felt happier and more at home there than anywhere else I have really in the past few years. It's so weird to realise that.

I guess it's just when I feel grumpy and stressed that this comes out. I'm having trouble finding work, it's getting hotter here, my asthma meds are going to cost me an absolute fucktonne of money, it's too long til Comic Con, I want to be able to see my overseas friends, etc etc.

Until I invent a magical teleporter and/or money making machine, i'll just be here being crotchety! At least I have the internet! WHOOO!! :/

As there's at least a couple of people reading who'll be coming to Comic Con with me, I figured I may as well just blog this nerdery up so I can furnish it with shiny links and ease of reading rather than just an email. And then you guys can point anyone else along to it who might have a need for it, or some input with other info! And it's just gone 5 weeks til preview night, so it's never too early to start organising..

I'm going to be going to Comic Con for the first time, and i've never experienced anything quite like it before. I've been to similarly structured conventions in Australia and London, but definitely nothing quite on the scale of San Diego's Nerd Prom. I am, quite frankly, a little terrified. Which is why i've started to see what is out there on the web as far as information to prep oneself with if you don't know what the hell you're getting yourself in for.

A quick Google for "comic con survival guide" was a pretty good start, quite simply. Among the results were a brief guide from the LA Times, this low-key text file archive of a message board thread, one on Sequential Tart full of good advice, a generic table of tips, a massive list of 100 tips for attending SDCC, and this one guy's multi-part blog series on surviving SDCC. Edited to add: http://allthingsfangirl.blogspot.com/2009/06/real-girls-guide-to-sdcc.html

Other than "shower and change your clothes on a daily basis" (they really have to suggest that??), here's some of the more regularly suggested tips (even if a few are really just common sense) for the con itself - we're past the 'getting a hotel and getting to San Diego' planning part now!

* Attire - dress with some options, as it'll be hot outside and air-conditioned inside. Comfortable shoes are a must and you're a fool if you think otherwise. Luckily I don't own any uncomfortable shoes!
* Bags and backpacks - you're going to be bring a bunch of stuff in to survive the days, and also buying a shedload of crap to take home with you every night. Something like a day pack and maybe even an extra tote bag is useful. Don't bring a wheelie suitcase or a clutch purse.. just, don't.
* Food - inside SDCC the food is gross, expensive and you have to wait forever. BYO sustenance! I planned on doing this anyhow because i'm a "picky eater". Hehe. If we've got to go out for real food then the Gaslamp quarter is closest, but sounds like it gets quite busy after the halls of the con close around 7-ish. I plan on sweet talking my way into having Ben Templesmith take me to the pub. If this doesn't work, i'll have to start eating comics. Mmmmm. Fibre. And if that fails, there's always time for a supermarket run.
* Dealer's Hall/Shopping Sprees - Look out for deals on the last day of the con as people are trying to get rid of stock. I'm not sure about this, but will see - i'm hoping to try and get a bunch of shopping/browsing done on Wed night preview! Apparently there's a Fed-Ex somewhere in the convention centre just in case you buy so much you need to send it home. Useful!
* Money - Bring cash. A bunch. Some places accept debit/credit, but some don't. And you don't want to get stuck in line behind hundreds of stormtroopers and Twilight fans at the cash machine.
* Freebies - Get freebie tickets when you get to the con, and if you want something decent then make sure you're early to lineup for whatever timeslot your ticket states.
* Panels/autographs etc - It seems for any of the big panels you have to dedicate a lot of time out of your day for this. They don't require people to get out of the hall between panels, so if you're outside in the lineup to get in you may not be in luck. The most frequent advice i've seen for panels is "plan, plan, PLAN!" - no problemo. For autos you can BYO something to get signed, but sometimes guests will only sign headshots they're selling or whatever. Getting sketches from comic artists can be free or have a cost, depending on who they are - but you will need to bring a sketchbook or comic boards for them to do it on most of the time regardless. A pen/sharpie (or multiple) is also useful to have.
* Seeing as it'll be summer when we're down in the corner of Umerka, I thought I should check out what sort of weather to expect as i've not seen anything in the survival guides except "summer! hot!". I've been surprised by North American summer temperatures before *glares at Toronto* so it's part of my traveling instinct to check, now. Wikitravel says average climate for July is 18.8°C low and 24.4°C high. After a bit of Googling about to find actual past weather reports for about the time of year Comic Con is, it appears it was about 20.3°C mean temp (low of 18.3°C and high of 23.3°C). That is so much milder than I expected! And now you know what to expect, too.

It also appears that i'm in for a bunch of early mornings - doors don't open until 10am but there's lineups and all of that kind of business to deal with. I'm going to need to hook myself up with some serious caffeination. Oh, there shall be a search for Jolt. OH YES. I also need to start listing the stuff i'm going to have to remind myself to take, like camera w/ extra batteries, etc etc. PLANNNNNNNING. And printing! Yes! Printing maps and all sorts of things. Mostly I just need to chill out about it though (ha!) because honestly, it's going to be insane. I'm so glad we're staying up in Midtown actually, because we can all pile back to our condo and party there :D It'll be nice after day after day of sharing a finite space with thousands and thousands of people.

Man, I wish I could get paid to do this kind of poking about for information! Also, if you think this is strange and obsessive planning-wise, then I assume you will be happy to know that i've already got a spreadsheet started for panel times and things like that. Don't get me started on the documents i've got going for the road trip part of the adventure..

This is not about choices or morals or anything like that. This is about defining something, pure and simple. In the last 6 months or so i've found myself arguing with people more about the defining principles of what 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' mean. These are commonly used words with specific application. A vegetarian does not consume meat or any other type of product that is directly related to the death of an animal (for instance gelatine or rennet). A vegan, to the best of their ability, has removed all animal foods and products from their lives, including meat, eggs, dairy and honey.

Words have definitions for a reason. We use words to communicate with each other, they are markers that make this communication (sometimes) easier. The terms "vegetarian" and "vegan" are useful shorthand to describe diets, as is the term "coeliac" or "omnivore". In the UK, for instance, the label 'vegetarian' is something specifically defined in food labelling law so it can be printed on vegetarian products (those that contain cheese without animal rennet, for instance).

So when people misuse or appropriate these words for uses they are not intended for, I tend to get a little grumpy. It devalues their meaning, and it devalues their real use. You can't say "I'm still a virgin but i'm pregnant" or "I'm Amish but I do like to ride about on a motorbike every so often", so why should you be able to say "I'm vegetarian" but still eat fish (or chicken or sometimes even a little pork)*. You are not a "pesco-vegetarian" or even a "pollo-vegetarian". You are someone who eats meat, you are an omnivore - someone who has a mixed diet of meat (whatever type, however much!) and plants.

I generally don't argue with people for their dietary choices. But if you talk shit like that, and go misusing and misunderstanding words knowingly, I'm going to whip out my grump and fling it around a bit, alright? Just so we're clear. And now those of you who are maybe confused about the matter, I hope this clears it up for you.

And if you're an Amish virgin who's riding a motorbike away from their village after finding out they are pregnant, I wish you the best.

* And as a side note to this, there's no such thing as a vegan who eats cheese regularly. "Chegan"? No. If you're eating cheese, then you're a vegetarian. Just say it! It's not something to get hung up on - follow the handy instructional definitions.

Sometimes social and news events seem to rise up and collide and become overwhelming to me, usually when all circling around the one theme. At the moment, it is the astounding level of bigotry that's apparent in world events. First, the BNP wins in the recent UK/EU elections. Instead of focusing on the obviously negative things those individuals do and say, i'd rather link to this opinion piece by Charlie Brooker, because he is absolutely spot-on about how full of shit parties like the BNP are.

Next, the shooting in Washington's Holocaust museum. I've got a news alert set up in my Google Reader that feeds me stories with the keyword 'museum', for obvious nerdy reasons. It's usually pretty quiet.. recently it started filling up with articles and reviews for Night at the Museum 2. But this week it's been flooded with stories about the murder of a security guard at this museum. The utter hatred that filled the gunman to a point where he would walk into a place of history, education and learning to open fire.. it makes me sick. I've got many other thinky thoughts from a museum-based perspective, but for now it's just the sheer shock of the whole thing. The media have, of course, latched onto it for their usual reasons. Lots of headlines and stories detailing how this shooter had links to the BNP, and even racist groups in Australia. How he's gotten so much support since the incident from fans online. It makes me feel physically ill.

So when I saw this story this evening, I didn't feel like I could hang my head any more, feel so passively overwhelmed by it all any more. I knew of that Facebook group already, but to have it brought up again at a point like this was salt on a wound. It makes me so mad, so impotently mad. The mindless hatred, the hypocrisy in their arguments. I want to grab them all collectively by the shoulders and shake sense into them. Unfortunately, racism is so thoroughly ingrained in Australian society that it's hard to grow out of it. Since the arrival of Europeans and their idea of terra nullius, the White Australia policies of Federation.. It's difficult to shake off. I grew up in a family who supported the National Paty and Liberals and who are still all racist to some degree but I have come far from that.

It makes me so sad to see so many people who cannot. Just reading over the information for the Facebook group makes me feel gross. This quote in the WA Today article from a spokesperson for the Immigration Minister just shows how foolish people are if they think that any white Australian is somehow pure and anyone who is an immigrant isn't welcome:

"Australia is a country of migrants," he said.

"About 45 per cent of our population... was either born overseas or has at least one parent who was born overseas. This means that nearly half of all Australians are either migrants or children of migrants."

It makes me laugh to think of the little pockets of London that are full of Australians who've gone over on some sort of Visa to work there - they clump together afraid to become part of regular London/UK life. They seek out Australian friends, Australian bars, and seem happy with this filtered existence. I'm not saying you can't keep a fondness for the country you are from and the things you love about it - but if a group of Londoners started a Facebook group targeted at these sorts of Australians saying "Fuck off, Clapham's full" I figure they'd be put out by it.

Ohh, I don't know. It's this blind nationalism (not i'm deliberately not saying patriotism here, because that's not what it fucking is) and stubborn ideas of a White Australia that are so out of touch that make me ashamed of my country sometimes, and why I steer clear of Australia Day.

I wish the world wasn't so fraught with these problems of humans essentially just not getting along with each other. Of all people, I understand that Homo sapiens is not a simple beast. Everything about our cultures and societies is sometimes too complex to comprehend. But human culture and society is amazing. For all of its flaws, and our flaws, it's pretty bitchin' to be us. For the hatred and violence to overwhelm that frustrates me. I don't want to share a planet with bigots and murderers. I just don't.

(Clicky for a few more fairly similar photos.)

A couple of weeks ago I got to see the studio of The Hour as part of Doors Open Toronto, and figured I really should look into getting tickets. I'd been keeping an eye on the site since then to see if any guests were announced or anything, but no. Then last week I noticed there were only a few tapings left before the summer programs begin, so I just put down today's date in hope i'd get tickets anyhow just because I thought it would be neat to see a taping.

Then I got an email. You've got tickets for The Hour, it said! Oh goody, and I clicked on it to read the whole thing. Guests were Don Newman (huh?) and RYAN REYNOLDS. Seriously, best luck, right?

So me and my friend Cath went along this afternoon and enjoyed ourselves an educational and entertaining experience watching The Hour being taped. Don Newman turned out to be a political journo who'd been working in the industry for 40-some years. Interesting guy. Then RYAN REYNOLDS. Ohhh he is so delightful and charming and funny and delicious. It pleased us greatly! The host, George Stromboulopoulos, is himself charming and funny and a very good host - from the episodes i've seen of the show to date, i've been impressed. He can ad lib really well and can interview interestingly and thoroughly off the cuff and generally guides things well and makes it all great viewing. Also he's smokin' hot. Hoorah George!

The taping itself was interesting - they filmed it a little bit out of order because Mr Reynolds had other press to do. Bits and pieces of intros here and there.. Oh, and a couple of segments for summer shows too. There was an assistant-type person keeping the audience warm at times with a bit of joking and also giveaways! Most of it was terrible stuff I guess they can't even sell in the CBC shop or whatever's lying around from other shows etc etc - some books and CDs, y'know. There were a couple of games of Halo that had to be rock-paper-scissored for though. And I managed to score a cookbook from one of my favourite Toronto restaurants worth a good $30! I may have flailed to get it. Maybe.

Anyhow, it was an afternoon well-spent. And then after a wander on Queen West we went and stuffed ourselves stupid at Fresh, as the idea had been planted in our heads by the cookbook. Thanks for the tops time, Toronto!

A few months back, and I can't even remember how, I stumbled across some old Geocities webspace I had back in the day. I'd uploaded photos to it from my first solo overseas jaunt in 2002 (Frankfurt, Berlin, Cambridge, London, a bunch of places in Mexico, then LA). I promptly siphoned them off there and onto my hard drive for posterity's sake and figured I may as well put them on Flickr to have them somewhere useful!

It's so strange, seeing a slice of my personal history packaged up in photos like that. I remember bits of places and the feeling of certain towns and cities, how I felt travelling all over like that on my own, but I probably couldn't write a good account of the trip as a whole. The pictures pluck some memories out of the depths, though.

Mostly i'm overwhelmed with a sense of existential crisis when I look at them. Who was I then, who am I now, how did I even come to this point in my life, etc etc. I feel like a totally different person now, even though I can see in 2002-me some of the same essential elements that are an important part of who I am. It's so strange, it's almost like an objective observation.

So, that's me this morning! I think I may need to find something to do for the rest of the day, lest I waste away and somehow mind meld with the internet. We can't have that.

In the past 7 days, i've watched the last 3 episodes of Pushing Daisies, the same for Heroes, watched all 10 episodes of Castle (omgFILLION), 6 episodes of Is It Bill Bailey? and now i'm starting on catching up with the last few episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and half a dozen or so episodes of Lie To Me.

I think my brain has gone on strike. Have I finally hit top gear of being an unemployed bum? This must be it. Although it's taken me over a month. I suppose that when I finished work in London I was still busy with travel and seeing people and doing stuff that I didn't get a moment to stop and realise I didn't have a day job. Now i've shifted to an entirely different pace and structure of daily life here in Toronto, and I suppose i'm getting the downtime I needed in those last few weeks of traipsing the UK, but I didn't get.

Perhaps it's not healthy, lazing about all day watching tv. (To be fair, it's been rainy most of this week!) But I needed to settle in. Still do, to a certain extent. I'm not quite ready to job hunt or temp just yet. I think i'll give it another week or so and see. I'll work on my resume between now and then, be ready for it and all that. But still, I think having this brain holiday isn't such a bad thing. Just as long as it doesn't transcend to super mega ultra hermit mode (aka oh god what am I doing with my life mode), then it'll be fiiiiiine. Or else i'll end up looking like my icon.

Yep. So, Sarah Connor Chronicles double bill to finish that off tonight I think! Perhaps with a side of comfort food. (Stupid rain.)

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Of course you never think you'll be homesick for somewhere that's not your home - but I feel myself having a culture shock coming back to Toronto, because i'd become a Londoner. It's the strangest thing. My friend Cath told me she grabbed me a few bottles of Irn Bru from her grocery store here in Toronto and I felt this huge surge of relief and sadness and all of that stuff at once.

I keep calling money pounds. I am constantly weirded out by hearing Canadian rather than English accents as I walk the streets. Cars on the other side of the road - well, that was problematic in Continental Europe, too. I even miss my Oyster card, as I fumble for cash fares and look like an idiot tourist at the subway stations.

Perhaps I am feeling it moreso than the two other times i've visited Canada because I don't properly feel like a tourist this time around. I'm aiming to stay here more than a few weeks (as my previous trips have been), i've got a room in a house rather than staying with friends which makes me feel a lot more independent staying here, and I don't feel like I have to rush out and cram awesome stuff in every single day (although that could be the cold/jet lag talking). It feels different this time. For so many reasons.

I hope it turns into a just-as-awesome different as my other travels have been. I hope, at least, I won't go broke buying groceries* before I find the awesome, anyhow. For now, i'll comfort myself with the delicious amber nectar and work on transitioning.

* Seriously, 4 bucks for jam? Come on, man! Even groceries in London are cheaper than that!

To say i've been too busy to blog is so trite, but it's really true at the moment. The time I have spent in front of the computer has been mostly for catchup and uploading photos when I can (there's a few new sets on my Flickr, see?). The rest of my life at the current moment consists of wringing my hands about packing and saying goodbye. Tomorrow i'll be flying away.

Ack.



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I need to stop focusing on time. How much i've spent here and there, how little I feel I have, why I couldn't have used it wiser these last few months. I'm also really preoccupied by the things i've missed out on, and will miss out on. What I need to do is focus on all of the excellent things that have been part of my life for the past 20 months or so and not in a fretting, oh god, leaving it all behind way. And also, I need to realise that the fresh start isn't as scary as i'm making myself think it will be and there will be loads of awesome stuff in the year ahead.

There's been so much great stuff that sometimes i'm not sure how i've been this lucky! Getting to go to parts of the whole UK, spending time with old friends and making new ones (so many!), celebrating Halloween for the first time ever, getting to see the Spaced marathon at the BFI, seeing good and proper snow, working at one of the world's most famous museums, eating myself a new spare tyre thanks to all the delicious vegan food in the UK, photo scavenger hunts, walks around London, seeing not just Dylan Moran but also Bill Bailey and the Mighty Boosh live shows, meeting the guy who draws Bunny (yay!), and finishing it all off tonight by going to a taping of QI. That's just off the top of my head!

So, onward to new adventures. And remembering that no matter how big the world is, I will get to see all these friends again - and one day get to pester them to visit me when i'm stuck back in Australia.

See you all from Canada! ♥

"but you'll never know this life, till you have to say goodbye" - Til We Have to Say Goodbye - Black Heart Procession

I couldn't think of an appropriate title of this mix because it's a bit all over the place, so as i've just gotten back from France i've put my obviously fantastic foreign language skills to the test and you get this: Le Mix! [mirror] (80MB, rar archive) - apologies for Sendspace rather than Megaupload, but the latter just crashes every time I try to upload.

Tracklist:
01: London's Burning (live) - The Clash - From Here to Eternity
02: Civil Twilight - The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
03: All For Swinging You Around - The New Pornographers - Electric Version
04: This Isn't It - Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns
05: High and Dry - Radiohead - The Bends
06: Hey Jude - Joe Anderson - Across the Universe Soundtrack
07: I Can Feel It - Sloan - Best Of
08: Cannonball - The Breeders - Last Splash
09: Showing Signs - Iron On - The Verse EP
10: Light Rail Coyote - Sleater-Kinney - One Beat
11: Leeds United - Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
12: Too Drunk to Dream - The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
13: Your Ex-Lover is Dead - Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
14: Curse of the Currents - Said the Whale - Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia
15: Argument - Fugazi - Argument
16: Til We Have to Say Goodbye - Black Heart Procession - 3

Just because I feel like it. I'm feeling all a bit up and down lately, but I can always distract myself with music. This is effectively dangling shiny things at you all. ENJOY :D

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First of all, i'm back from my short sojourn in Budapest. Secondly, i'm in a mad panic about all sorts of things, mostly the fact i've got to leave my abode in just a few days!

Let us deal with these points sequentially, yes? So, Budapest. Was fantastic and wasn't what I expected even though I wasn't quite sure what I expected. There is no way I got to see everything I wanted to, and I exhausted myself each day trying. The above photo was from my longest day of wandering, taken in a semi-residential area. It epitomises a lot of what I think Budapest is, or what i've gotten out of my few days there. Because while it's a beautiful city with lots of gorgeous spaces and amazing grandiose buildings, there's still this aspect of crumbling beauty all around the place, which is just as amazing.

I loved the transport system (so easy and cheap to get around!), the bridges, the Danube, the gorgeous parks. I was frustrated at my inability to grasp the basics of the language though - made me realise how much my brain defaults to German when faced with foreign language in general. In just under 3 days I saw the National Museum, the Historic Museum, had a wander all 'round Buda Hill and saw the palace, Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, the labyrinth, Margaret Island, the Ethnographic Museum, Parliament's exterior, the city park and Hero's Square.. ohhh, the list goes on. I was so exhausted on Saturday night when I got home that I was slightly delirious (at one point I think I mentioned how funny it would be to see George Clooney's face on a giant squid) and i'm glad I don't have to fly in/out of Luton again because it's a pain to get to.

You can see some more of what I saw here - that's only about a third (!) of what I took, as well. I want to write another entry 'bout finding food and whatnot there, but might wait until after I go to Paris til I write about that.

Now, onto our second point: I am going crazy. Today's the first day i've properly started to pack my stuff out and i'm freaking out about having too much, how i'm going to get stuff sorted to send home etc etc. Stressing about real estate agents being slow as fuck organising a switchover of me to another person on the lease. My computer failed epic-style today and although I got there in the end it was amazing stress I certainly didn't need. Basically i'm a ball of anxiety and can't be much fun to be around, and it's almost certainly like how I was before I left Brisbane - i'm so, so sorry to my friends there for how retarded I was. Christ on a bike. Anyhow.. i'm sure once the whirlwind of moving stuff out/going to Ireland/going to Paris is done then I can potter about til I leave (!) and that will be just grand.

GOOD TIMES.

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In a month from now i'll be back in Toronto, with who really knows what laying ahead of me. In the couple of months i've spent there cumulatively, the city has been awesome to me. It's so incredibly livable and there's always something excellent going on. Thanks to the super helpfulness of packyrsuitcases i've got somewhere to live til the end of August, so it's summer in Toronto (with a short pause to dash off to San Diego for Comic Con) and then... something else! Possibly more Toronto! Depends on work, etc. If that happens. I just want to be in the city, catching up with the few friends I have there and easing back into all the things I love about that place.

At the moment i'm back in this limbo of freaking the fuck out about leaving, but being excited about going to Toronto. I have Budapest, Ireland and Paris all within the next few weeks and so now i'm not sure about trying to squeeze something in after that, but before I leave the UK. Especially now that i've got tickets to go to a filming of QI on the night before I leave (!).

Ungh, I don't know! I can't quite articulate just how i'm feeling at the moment. But I look at that picture up there and I think maybe everything will be okay.

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When I was getting ready for the move to London, I felt so in the dark about what to expect and how life would be like here. Over a year and a half later, I forget what that feeling is like and now i'm starting to have this feeling of "how am I going to leave behind this life i've now gotten used to?"

Quite randomly, one of the things i've now come to find usefully normal here is the availability of fireworks over xmas/nye and Guy Fawkes day, ready and waiting to buy right there in the supermarket not 5 minutes walk from my house. Since I was a wee kidlet in Australia, fireworks have been banned in the states (although you can hook yourself up if you live in a territory), so it'd been such a very long time since i'd seen any that weren't in big displays. I was giddy and excited and a little bit frightened when we set the first ones off, but after that I was all "MORE OMG MORE GIMME!!" because it's so much fun. The above shot's from my second time 'round at New Years Eve, letting a bunch off on the banks of the Thames just down from the building our flat's in.

If you're wondering, chief among the other stuffs i'll miss when i'm gone from London/UK will be:
- Ready access to Irn Bru.
- Tasty eats at Red Veg.
- Enormous amount of amazing and free museums.
- Cider. Oh Jimmy, the cider.
- Getting to watch all the fun BBC tellies and whatnot without having to download it.

Things I will not miss:
- Limescale in my kettle. RUINS MY TEA.
- Chavs
- The expensiveness of all sorts of things (!)

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A month or two back I went to an event called 'Science Lates' - the Science Museum in South Kensington opens til 10pm one evening for adults only and it's pretty fun - although mostly an excuse for hipsters to stand around and drink a lot of beer. I'd never been to the Science Museum before, so it was all very in at the deep end for me - navigating the many floors and many people became a little overwhelming at times. I saw little bits and pieces here and there (Babbage half-brain!) and caught a couple of demos and even took part in a taiko drumming workshop at the end of the night. But for visiting a Science Museum I feel like I came away with very little knowledge, having just bombarded my senses with cool stuff.

This fairly terrible picture was of a screen showing a video of a 1950s coffee machine (I don't recall seeing any of the objects anywhere on display though!) that I caught in a quiet moment with angstslashhope. It was utterly fascinating. Heat and gravity takes the water up through the coffee grounds and brings it back down leaving you with a delicious piping brew. The design of it is simply gorgeous and perfectly retro (from my modern perspective, ha!) and if I owned one of these i'd never get tired of watching it make me coffee every morning.

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Today's photo is cheating a bit, because I didn't take it (thanks, Liz!), but i'm in it! Currently in middle of Easter break, and somewhere on the way between exhausted and relaxed. Getting up north turned into a bit of an ordeal (if you saw any of my tweets from Thurs/Fri you may have noticed this), but the stuff we've done since actually getting to the north has been great! Even getting penned in by a mob of singing Christians on Good Friday couldn't turn our slightly delirious from not sleeping moods.

South Shields as a holiday destination made some of my English friends give me strange looks indeed. But that's where we are staying! It's got the standard trappings of a fairly touristy seaside English town (whorish tramps stumbling outside nightclubs, fish and chip shops every 10 metres, seaside amusement fairs) but in many other aspects it's a terrific spot with an interesting history. The above picture was taken at the ruins of a Roman fort, for instance! We also scooted over north of the Tyne to North Shields and out to Tynemouth village to see some castle and priory ruins, lots of neat stuff.

My pics from the trip so far are here!

Tomorrow we're Scoooorrrtland-bound to immerse ourselves in Irn Bru and Glasweigan awesomeness. See you soon, dear readers!

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Spring is springing here, that is for sure. Clocks are forward and there are daffodils all about the place, poking out of the green grass in parks. I was browsing my Flickr sets before and this one stood out at me because of the very Spring-ness of it. I thought to myself, "wow, when the hell was it that I was in York to take such a Spring picture?". I looked at the date stamp. One year ago to the day. WEIRD, man. And what was even weirder was that the day before, when I arrived in York, it had snowed. What is up, England?

Anyhow, this is the nice part of spring. No more scarves, lunch outside in the park, etc etc. I'm sure within the month i'll be popping antihistamines like candy. Whoooo!!

In the meantime, i'm going UP NORTH for Easter holiday! This is the technical term. Off to Durham and the coast nearby, then to Glasgow to guzzle Irn Bru til I fall down, then back next week to work. Boo. But, when I get back i'll only have 5 more working days left in that job! Yaaay! But that means ever closer to STUFF AND PLANS AND LIFE CHANGING. Insert heart palpitations here.

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The Tube map is one of the more recognisable facets of London's transport, next to red double decker buses, and it's for good reason - it's so much a part of London that even when you're aboveground you think a little bit in the colours of the lines when you're getting around the place. The whole of Greater London's transport was so overwhelming to me when I first arrived here, especially the tube. So often now, though, i'm on autopilot when I travel - I rarely need to look at a tube map to get around (especially into Central London from my place) and I know all the parts where you zoom through the gates with your Oyster, bustle on up or down the left side of the escalator, and if you're not a bastard with no manners, stand to the side and let passengers off the tube before you cram yourself in.

I think the best part about waiting on a mostly deserted tube platform later at night when there's still a few minutes til a train arrives? Watching the tube mice scoot about down by the rails, snuffling for food or rummaging about in an empty takeaway coffee cup. Those guys are the cutest.

::: ::: ::: ::: :::

SO! I know it's been a few days, but I just couldn't muster up brainpower over the weekend. I only left the house once (essential supplies: newspaper and Irn Bru) and spent most of my time fretting about the stupid leak in our roof and the rest watching an absolute fucktonne of telly. Finished off Dexter, caught up on Supernatural, Dollhouse, Reaper and Chuck (♥). MY EYES. It was so very very good to have an absolute 'waste' of a weekend like that, though. I didn't have the energy for much more, my head's still full of goo. It better go away soon, i'm going on holiday soon! (Up north is totally a holiday damn it.)

That reminds me! I'm off to Budapest in just over 2 weeks, then Paris the first week-ish of May! Whee, booking travel! I need to figure out something to wrangle Pompeii/Herculaneum/Rome into 4-ish days after Paris and that will be that, I think. I have had to scrap Amsterdam and Istanbul, I just haven't got the time (nor really the money).

If anyone's got any nuggets of info 'bout Budapest or Paris (places to eat, stay, see, etc) please get on in and drop those in the comments!

And now, bed. Because earlier I saw The Boat That Rocked and the combination of awesome* that movie threw at me plus all the laughing has left me swooning! G'night, kids.



*BILL NIGHY NICK FROST CHRIS O'DOWD AND TO A LESSER EXTENT PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN OMG YOU GUYS.

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The first time I went to Liverpool I really had not much of an idea what not expect - all I really had a vague idea about was some famous band was from there, and they seem to have a bit of a feud with Manchester.

I've been two times now - once for katyh100's hen weekend and once for a museum conference - and although i've not seen a huge amount of the city and its surrounds I was pleasantly surprised with what I did see. Of all the gorgeous old buildings, churches, parks and streets to wander, I think the area around the docks was my favourite to spend time in.

If you wander away from the big shopping area and past the hotels and the giant convention centre, you end up in sight of the Mersey, a river that's got quite a presence. Large ships and boats slide by, heading out to the open ocean. If you follow it along the path a bit you come around behind the Tate Liverpool and into Albert Dock. This is a square dock, with buildings surrounding the water on all sides - mostly shops and cafes now, but it's also where the Tate is, as well as the Maritime Museum.

It seems like a bit of an oasis, even though the whole docks area is a calmer and quieter place than the city centre. Surrounded by these beautiful old dock warehouses and buildings, it can be so lovely to stand at the railings looking into the centre of the dock at the dark water, and the various boats parked there. Last couple of times there was this fantastic huge piratey ship docked outside the maritime museum, Jolly Roger flapping in the wind. It was a crisp day, cold but clear skies, and it was just lovely to take a moment to stop and take it all in.

suze2000 asked about this one!

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While my mother was visiting here in En-ger-land, we trundled off from King's Cross station to spend a brisk wintery day in Cambridge. Cambridge was the first place I ever spent any proper amount of time in the first time I came to England, bunking with alfykins and visiting all the terrific museums with wonder in my eyes. I've been there quite a few times since I moved here in 2007, and I do rather find it a lovely place to spend some time.

Seeing as I was a seasoned visitor I was happy to trundle about and see whatever mum wanted to. This ended up being mostly me wandering to things I thought she might like, and we ended up deciding to take a punt on the river despite the chill in the air - it was something i'd never done and it was quiet on the river Cam!

We hopped on a guided punt and with blankets over our knees were pushed off down the tiny river. There's quite a few bridges that you pass under along this stretch of the Cam - it runs along the backs of most of the colleges there - and from where we started the Mathematical Bridge was the first one. Supposedly the original was designed by Newton to stay together without the need for nuts and bolts, just sheer physics and geometry - students decided to take it apart and couldn't get it back together so it's now bolted up. I think this is a bit fat fib, of course, but it still makes for a lovely bridge. The others are stone and many have decorative carving, etc - but I like this one for its material simplicity and geometrical aesthetic.

I think we all know how my hope to write in this thing on a more regular basis has gone - and I realise that many of you will be skipping by the daily Twitter feeds too. Honestly, i'm just finding it hard to find a source of inspiration to draw from (how wanky does that sound?) - every time I think about something like current affairs or veganism or stuff i'm doing, it just doesn't seem to form properly enough in my head to write about. And so when I do sit down and pour something out, it's usually malformed braindumping about life or angsting about life or whatever. Sure, i've got some big change coming up - but I need to think about other stuff too.

I'm going to try and write, prompted by photos, here on a regular basis. Not daily, probably, and nothing too long. Just something to get me actually writing about stuff i've seen and places i've been and all of that. Because while i've not been writing substantial amounts (ie. I twitter plenty, hehe), i've been taking shedloads of pics still.

I'll be picking stuff at random from my Flickr - if you're interested in certain pics, by all means let me know and i'll consider writing about/inspired by them! You can find things a bit easier by looking at my sets or tags, too!

Onto the first, then!

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A couple of weekends ago, I finally visited the Tower of London, one of this metropole's most popular tourist draws. Because I don't spend a lot of time around places where tourists tend to congregate, it's always a jarring experience to see all of the terrible gift shops, fast food stands, targeted advertising and exorbitant prices.

Luckily, I didn't have to fall prey to the high admission prices to the Tower (£17.00!!) because i'm one of the lucky residents of Tower Hamlets borough which the Tower sits in (only just, as the marker that indicates turning into the City is merely steps down the road). So with a library card and proof of address I strolled in with a ticket costing a mere £1. I knew all that council tax was good for something.

It was an interesting visit - some lovely buildings, smidges of interesting history I don't really know much about, all of that jazz. I think what I love about old sites like this, however, is the little reveals of the layers of how far back London really goes. Around the Tower itself are remains of bits of Norman and Roman wall. And, getting back to the picture itself, if you wander in the right parts of the City and nearby, you can see a lot of it! This is a statue of Ceasar in front of quite a large portion of the London wall, that shows quite a lot of layers going right down to the very earliest parts of the structure. When you take a good look about and have a wander, one of my favourite things to do in the City, you'll see stuff like the Temple of Mithras and remains of roman floors in the basements of churches. It's pretty amazing - and it makes you consider London in a whole new way! Some days it's all crushing on the Tube and crowded shopping streets and expensive rent - other times it's a city that's rich with history and full of wonder. I like it better that way.

I've already plugged this on Twitter today, and I don't know why I haven't shared this with you earlier:



I guess it's cos today's is especially fun, plus me and Liz are going with Amy (who is the genius behind Martin) to this web comics thing tomorrow and tis on my mind to spread the word.


So read, and enjoy! Or else Martin may just come after you...

This guide will be somewhat more limited than my Brisbane vegan eating guide, seeing as i've not had as much of a chance to eat out in the fair city of Melbourne as I have here in BrisVegas. I've found out about pretty much all these places from the great lists of places to eat over at Veg Network Victoria, and there's so many more over there.

::Vegie Bar:: (378-380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy). This place has got an awesome range of snacks/meals/soupy things (vegetarian + vegan). It's absolutely brilliant to snug up in there on a chilly Melbourne day and stuff yourself full of great food. Their soups of the day and their entrees are fantastic, but I was a little disappointed with the asian dishes. They've got a few vegan options of mexican food, and the burrito is very tasty. Their chocolate cake may possibly kill you. Reasonably priced.

::Feast On Seafood:: (88 Smith St, Collingwood - just up from Vegan Wares!). I know, with a name like that it doesn't look like it belongs. It's a fairly typical fish 'n' chip shop, except for the fact that it's got a huge vegan selection to mirror its seafood menu. Vegie fritters, 'chicken' nuggets, giant slices of deep fried pumpkin, onion rings, and OH the chips. *salivates* They have a few great burgers - i'm particularly fond of the crumbed 'chicken' schnitzel burger, myself. A wee bit on the expensive side for some of the faux-meat portions.

::La Panella Bakery:: (465 High St, Preston). This place is so great that i'm willing to spend over an hour on a tram (round trip) from the CBD in Melbourne to stuff my gaping maw with their fine baked goods. And damn, is it ever well-priced! Their plain cinnamon, choc glazed and their jam donuts are vegan, and you can't just eat one - ohno. On top of the sweets, they've got vegan 'meat' pies and 'sausage' rolls (TVP filling in both) which are warm and savoury and mmmmmm. The best thing is to grab a paper bag full and sit in the church yard across the road, rugged up in the windy chill stuffing your face. And then buy a sack full of donuts to bring home on the plane to Brisbane.

::Felafel Kitchen:: (175 Lygon St, Carlton; 139 Acland St, St Kilda; 353 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn). BEST felafel in Melbourne. I've only ever been to the St Kilda one, which is a small mostly takeaway shop. You can get a bag full of their bite sized felafel balls (maybe with some pita!) and then select your own sauce (hummus, baba ganoush etc) and get set scoffing. I recommend taking a wander down to the St Kilda beach for a nice view to go with the great snack.

::Lentil As Anything:: (133 Sydney Rd, Brunswick; 328 Victoria St, Brunswick; 41 Blessington St, St Kilda). Oh, a witty play on words - seriously a pretty neat concept for a restaurant though. All-vegan set menu, plus daily specials. Trick is, there are no set prices. So you order, eat, and then decide what the meal was worth and pay at the end. The food I had (soup of the day + bread) was divine, and I would really love to try something from their set menu next time. I've only been once, and always mean to go back to one of their locations.

::Soulfood Cafe:: (273 Smith St, Fitzroy). A small cafe about halfway up the strip on Smith St, sort of near Friends of the Earth. It's a very standard little cafe with a pretty decent balance of vegetarian and vegan food. They do a decent coffee, and their burgers are terrific. That plus their organic beer/drink selection makes it a good backup for when nowhere else is open, or everywhere else is too busy. It's not normally my first choice of place to go, just because it's so similar to the Forest up home - not because it's bad quality at all!

::Lord of the Fries:: (Cnr Elizabeth and Flinders Streets, City). Tried this out on my most recent trip to Melbourne - not somewhere that you should rely on for vegan food in Melbourne - after all, it's just chips - but they're really good chips and they have quite a lot of vegan toppings. Plus, they have some Phoenix organic drinks! The 'cone' size is quite filling - definitely only share the box. And have a look in their little 3D viewer while you wait!

::The Organic Food and Wine Deli:: (28 Degraves St, City). I *love* this little place! A tiny alley cafe with outside seating only (and very little of it, at that), that's sort of a cross between a tiny grocery store/deli and a cafe. Great coffee, pre-packaged bulk foods, vegan cakes/brownies, pies, rice balls, burger patties. So tasty! It's pretty well-priced for a city cafe, too.

::Soul Mama:: (St Kilda Baths Complex, Jacka Blv, St Kilda). I have enormous amounts of love for Soul Mama's - awesome food, awesome views, awesome staff. It's a buffet system for mains and dessert, and then you order drinks on top of that (the drinks are a little overpriced, though). The mains are a little expensive ($15ish), but you get a HUGE bowl with 4 selections and rice - that's just the medium serve, too. Probably 3/4 of their mains selection (hot and salads) is vegan and about a 1/4 of their desserts are, so there's always a decent range for vegans. I've not been disappointed with any of the mains selections i've ever had, the quality is terrific. I've also had their bread + dips entree, which was AMAZING. The beetroot dip! Oh man. Well worth to go with a nice big group and hopefully you'll get a big table near the windows looking out over St Kilda beach.

::Obento Japanese Cuisine:: (Melbourne Central Food Court, City). I was surprised to find this place with vegan options - their veg pancake and veg tempura are egg and dairy free, and they had a tofu dish with rice when I went too. Unfortunately, their sushi range is pretty dire for vegans. It's good to know of somewhere in that food court that has something, though! Very tasty, and pretty cheap.

::Plush Pizza:: (85 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn). OH MY SWEET LORD. This place is amazing - a whole takeaway pizza place that's vegetarian and vegan. Their range of topping combos is huge, and all but maybe 2 are veganisable - they use Cheezley vegan cheese! They make their bases right there, and everything's gorgeous and fresh. They also do calzones and HOLY SHIT!! The mushroom one was so rad. I tried the potato pizza, which was delicious - it was so hard for me to not order half a dozen, though. Maybe one day i'll get to go back. Meanwhile, it's WELL worth heading to Hawthorn for these amazing pizzas.

::San Churro:: (277 Brunswick St, Fitzroy). Fresh, piping hot churros dusted in icing sugar. VEGAN churros! What could be better? Vegan dark chocolate dipping sauce! If you have a craving for sweets, make it over there post haste! A gorgeous little cafe, they specialise in the churros, but also have various other chocolately things and a range of hot chocolates. If you are vegan though, the dark chocolate sauce is the only one that's vegan; they will make their hot chocolates on soy milk, though. Delish!

::Caffe e Torta:: (314 Little Collins St, City). This is probably just like many other little arcade cafes in Melbourne, but I happened upon in randomly one day when looking for lunch with fellow Brisbanites Jen and Jane. If you're just after a snack or a coffee, this is a lovely place to drop in to - cosy, lovely coffee, fresh juice and avocado on sourdough. Mmm. Occasionally they'll also have soup that's vegan too - but with everything, just make sure when you're ordering anything to check there's nothing nasty in, and ask for no butter etc if getting toast.


Also, there's plenty of tasty treats (esp. bagels!) at the Vic Markets and South Melbourne Markets; and during the chillier months, keep your eyes out for roasted chestnut vendors in the CBD. Mmmmmelbourne.

It's Friday, Friday Friday. My brain, it's trying to survive.










[direct link to the image] [and I did get Whedonesque'd! Ahahahaomg.]

My brain! Ahahaha. I'm sorry, Ryan North.

Nicole’s Brisbane Vegan Eating Guide – September 2006

This guide attempts to compile a list of vegan and vegan-friendly places to eat and buy food around Brisbane. It’s by no means exhaustive, and if (of course) totally subjective. The places listed under “cater for vegan diets” are a selection only, and are generally placed where it is easier to obtain vegan foods. Each section will have contact details and a brief description, followed by noting if it’s eat-in/takeaway, what to expect food-wise, and a price range. The price range key is (roughly!): $ = up to $5; $$ = $5 - $10; $$$ = $10 - $20; $$$$ = over $20.

 

Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants

The Forest Food Lounge (124 Boundary St West End; 3846 6181 / http://www.theforest-westend.com/one.html
The Forest is (to my knowledge) the only all-Vegan café in Brisbane – and we’re lucky to have it! It’s a friendly atmosphere and terrifically tasty food. I guarantee you’ll be hooked on the “cheese”cakes in no time.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: tea, coffee, fresh juices, cakes, salads, pastries, pre-cooked hot meals, vegie burgers of all sorts (tempeh, lentil etc) to order. The Forest is also licensed, and stocks a fantastic range of vegan, organic beers, wines and spirits.
- Price range: $$ - $$$

 Magic Wok Vegetarian Restaurant (358 Mains Rd Sunnybank; 3219 5775)
Formerly “Leaderbowl” – but not much had changed except the name! Still a fantastic, huge menu of awesome asian feasts.
- Eat in or takeaway. Buffet on Saturday lunch.
- What to expect: asian delights a-go-go. Fried entrees, grilled ‘meats’, sushi, noodles, regular mains. I highly recommend the Lemon 'Chicken' and the fried 'Chicken drumsticks'.
- Price range: $$ - $$$ (best to go with a large group and split the price!)

 
Kuan-Yin Tea House (Wickham St, Fortitude Valley; 3252 4557)
A wonderful little cafe/restaurant near Chinatown in Fortitude Valley. It's great for a quick snack, meals or just grabbing bubble tea. Unfortunately it has limited opening times. The staff are really lovely though, and it's a great place to grab lunch on the weekends. (One or two things on the menu are vegetarian, not vegan – make sure to check!)
* What to expect: snacky entrees, small soups, tea snacks, full meals with tvp/gluten meats, and a huge range of bubble tea, iced tea and pots of hot teas. I heartily recommend the Taro milk drink (made on soy milk, of course) which tastes like cookies! Can definitely recommend the fried dumplings and the Taiwanese fried "chicken".
* Price range: $ - $$

 

Restaurants that cater for Vegan Diets

 City Wok (99 Elizabeth St Brisbane – Charlotte St end of Elizabeth Arcade; 3210 1010)
Surprisingly, there are very few veg* restaurants or cafes in the CBD. That’s because it’s full of McDonalds, or yuppies wanting seafood or something. God damn them. City Wok is my paradise amongst the homogenous.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: weekday lunch buffet brings a damn fine selection of pre-cooked mains, noodles, fried rice and entrees (spring rolls, dim sims). At other times they have a whole whopping vego menu in addition to their meaty one – stir fries, soups, fried entrée morsels. Mmm. If you’re vegan, specify that it’s a veg* meal you want, and that you want no egg (they do ask this with every order).
- Price range: $$

 The Vietnamese Restaurant BYO (194 Wickham St Fortitude Valley; 3252 4112)
The original home of Make Your Own Fun Rolls! In addition to their ‘normal’ menu, there’s a good selection of stuff for vegetarians and vegans.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: some nice entrees, and soups (chilli vegetarian soup is the best!). Main meals are a standard mix – the chilli garlic bean curd is spectacular (if you don’t have to kiss anyone for at least 24 hours). My most favourite thing, of course, is the bean curd ‘make your own fun rolls’ – an assemble yourself Vietnamese rice paper roll meal. But watch out – make sure you ask them to provide satay sauce instead of the fish sauce that automatically comes with them! I only very recently made this discovery.
- Price range: $$ - $$$

 King Ahiram Lebanese Food (88 Vulture St, West End; 3846 1678)
Best felafels in Brisbane, no competition.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: BEST FELAFELS IN BRISBANE. Pay attention! Tasty extras like grilled eggplant can be a nice treat. Their spinach + lentil pies are also vegan, and they occasionally have a rice and lentil dish.
- Price range: $

 Sushi Deli (Wintergarden complex, city; McArthur Building, city; Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly - and many other places, i'm sure)
Sushi Deli have some of the nicest quality sushi in town - and for what is effectively a sushi 'fast food' joint, that's awesome!
- Takeaway
- What to expect: ready-to go sushi in rolls or packs. They've got hatomaki avocado + cucumber rolls (which are both v. tasty), and also larger standard rolls like fried tofu, japanese vegies etc. Their inari's pretty tasty, too. Just watch out – one of their vegetarian options has egg!
- Price range: $

 Huong's Vietnamese/Chinese Restaurant (83 Vulture St, West End; 3844 6701)
A small-ish restaurant upstairs on Vulture St, very friendly staff and quite a nice place to eat - especially if you snare a window seat! A good place for vegies and omnis alike. Everyone's happy... Or, they better be.
- Eat in or Takeaway
-  What to expect: There’s a good mix of Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese veg* foods for entrees and mains. A couple of my faves are the delicious sizzling Mongolian vegie platter, and really subtle (but full of flavour) lemongrass tofu dish. They've got a decent selection of veg* entrees - spring rolls are particularly nice.
- Price range: $$$

Sassafras, 88 LaTrobe Tce, Paddington; 3369 0600) - http://www.sassafrasfoods.com.au/
A really cosy little terrace-house turned cafe. Great atmosphere and a huge mixed cafe menu. Great for keeping vegies and omnis happy for a nice mixed dining experience, especially for brekkies.
- Eat in only, as far as I know.
- What to expect: Fresh juices, smoothies, coffee, huge breakfast menu, pastries.. the usual cafe fare! I had scrambled tofu which was very tasty. I was also happy to discover that the friendly, good looking staff knew that "no egg or dairy" meant "vegan"! A gold star for them.
- Price range: $$$

Espressohead, 169 Boundary St West End 4101; (07) 3844 8324
One of the busier (but relatively largeish) cafes on Boundary St in West End. Friendly, helpful staff who accomodate vegans quite well.
- Eat in.
- What to expect: Lots of juices, plus regular cafe fare - mostly for omnis, but you can get them to work things a vegan way, which is nice. They offer brekky, lunch and dinner. It's nice to have another option for a vegan breakfast! Just remember, nothing's completely vegan (food wise anyhow) so make sure you check and double check! (Especially those mushrooms on toast, which are cooked in butter more often than not.)
- Price range: $$ - $$$

 Flowers of The World (Florist/Cafe), shop 15a Little Stanley St South Brisbane QLD 4101. ph: (07) 3229 1032
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: Small cafe attached to the florist, with organic coffee and some vegan bakedgoods. Open 7 days, and late-ish on Friday evenings.
- Price range: $ - $$ (if including snacks)

Quan Thanh, Shop 5/ 75 Hardgrave Rd West End 4810; (07) 3846 3849
Amongst the intensive strip of restaurants on Hardgrave Rd, Quan Thanh stands apart in having a decent range of Vietnamese vegan eating options, as well as being refreshingly un-trendy. Almost all of the veg menu is vegan, just make sure when you order that nothing comes with egg, or fish/oyster sauce.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: A couple of veg entrees, some lovely vegie dishes, rice paper rolls, noodle salads, and the undisputed king of Quan Thanh: salt and pepper tofu.
- Price range: $$

 Wild Pepper, Shop 1/75 Hardgrave Road, West End; 3844 1262 - http://www.wildpepper.com.au/
Wild Pepper’s expensive, and almost unbearably trendy, but it’s nice to have a gourmet pizza treat every now and then.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: A variety of vege pizzas, with the option of vegan cheese (Tofutti). Gluten free bases offered, too. Quality can be hit and miss, but try your luck.
- Price range: $$$ - $$$$

The Alibi Room, 720 Brunswick St, New Farm; 3358 6133 - http://www.thealibiroom.com/
The Alibi Room is a bit of an oasis amongst the posh cafes and restaurants along this strip in New Farm. Comfy to hang out in with a nice atmosphere, this bar/restaurant has a reasonable amount on offer for veg*ns to snack upon - even pizza! Oh my.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: Fairly standard cafe foods like burgers, tapas and pizza. They have a specific vegan breakfast, as well as a vegan pizza (complete with stunt meat and uncheese!) - and they're good about requests to veganise other things (other snacks, dips coming with chips, etc).
- Price range: $$ - $$$$

 Himalayan Café, 640 Brunswick St New Farm 4005; (07) 3358 4015
You might be surprised, like I was, to discover the Himalayan offers vegan options – even marked as that on the menu! It’s delicious food, and a fantastic, cosy atmosphere.
- Eat in and takeaway
- What to expect: a really decent range of vegan entrees, and some hearty, flavoursome mains. The black eyed bean dish, especially.
- Price range: $$ - $$$

 Wagamama, Emporium (1000 Ann St), Fortitude Valley; (07) 3257 3855 – http://www.wagamama.com.au
It can be difficult to find vegetarian/vegan options in some Asian restaurants. Wagamama’s hip to the jive, though, and offer a great range of vego foods. They’re good about modifying to use vege stock, and leaving eggs out of things, too!
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: noodle soups, stirfries, curry, gyoza to die for and amazing freshly steamed edamame for entrée!
- Price range: $$ - $$$

While Wagamama technically have veg*n foods, i'm loathe to recommend them now as i've had troubles on occasion with their staff understanding what the hell I need even when I explain it in clear terms.

Tibetan Kitchen, Fortitude Valley 454 Brunswick St 4006; (07) 3358 5906 / West End 59 Hardgrave Rd 4101; (07) 3844 7355 - http://www.gourmetdeliveries.com.au/menus/we/gd_menus_tibetan.htm
Another surprising offering – not a huge range to choose from, but it’s somewhere you know you can go with omni friends, and everyone can enjoy the intense deliciousness of Tibetan cuisine. As nothing is marked specifically, make sure to check the vegetarian meals are actually vegan.
- Eat in
- What to expect: dumplings and potato cakes for entrée, a couple of soups, and a few curries and tofu dishes for mains.
- Price range: $$ - $$$

Ginga, 178 Grey St South Brisbane 4101 QLD; Phone: (07) 3846 2313
Sometimes you’ll find yourself at South Bank with friends, and it’s got to be one of the most hellish places on earth to seek out vegan foods. With enough cajoling, most places will be able to find something – it’s much easier at Ginga where a decent amount of vegetarian/veganisable food is on offer already.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: The only vegan sushi on offer is their avocado roll, but is quite nice. Entrees on offer include vege tempura, edamame, miso soup, steamed vegies, and agedashi tofu. Mains are limited to zaru soba and yaki soba vegetables (double check and check again to make sure they know you want them vegan).
- Price range: $$ - $$$

 

Supermarkets, Grocery Stores and other general product outlets

As far as general food shopping goes, and not eating out, Brisbane’s pretty rad. Most Coles supermarkets carry a lot of veg* foods, and their health food sections have great ranges of tofu etc. A lot of the supermarkets in Chinatown (Fortitude Valley) and out at Sunnybank have good veg* food (faux meats, tasty treats) amongst the large amounts of strange unidentifiable food.

Bakeries
- Baker's Delight: All of their plain breads are vegan, and they've got an awesome selection. Some of their sweets are also vegan, like the jam log, cinnamon log, fruit buns and finger buns.
- Brumby's: Again, their plain breads are vegan. I'm not too sure about their sweets, except for a couple of things like fruit buns, and apple and walnut loaves w/ icing.
- Sol Breads (corner of Hardgrave Rd + Vulture St, West End; (07) 3255 1225 - http://www.solbreads.com.au/): Lots of plain breads like sourdough and the like which are vegan.
- Flour Power (corner of Gladstone Rd + Dornoch Tce, Highgate Hill; (07) 3217 2988): Simply amazing place, even though their vegan selection is minimal. Their plain breads (sourdough etc) are vegan, and on top of this there are amazing gourmet breads like olive loaves, fruit + nut loaves (chock FULL of dried fruit and whole nuts) – just make sure you check before you buy that an egg glaze hasn’t been used.

Health Food/Bulk Stores
These stores carry a lot of bulk and imported products, and in the case of the health food stores, specialised vegan goods that are difficult, if not impossible, to find in regular supermarkets.

- Mrs Flannery’s (Wooloongabba, Taringa, Chermside; http://www.mrsflannerys.com.au/). One of the larger health/organic “supermarkets” around.
- The Green Grocer (144 Boundary St, West End; (07) 38447961). Small but well-stocked.
- Fundamental Food Store (219 Given Terrace, Paddington QLD 4064; (07) 3368 1855 - http://www.fundies.com.au/index.html). Café attached.
- Organic Essentials, 11 Days Road, Grange. Qld 4051; (07) 3856 0678 (http://www.organicessentials.com.au/). Small store on the northside, stocks Redwood Organics products from the UK (Cheezley etc).
- Sun & Earth Organic Foods (New Farm 845 Brunswick St 4005; (07) 3358 2299). These guys are small, but have a great range – especially of Green and Black’s chocolate, and the fantastic Soy Delicious ‘ice cream’ from the States, in millions of flavours!
- Mick's Nut Store (31 Hardgrave Rd West End 4101; (07) 3844 7396). Terrific for bulk legumes, nuts and cereals.
- Samios Foods Retail (36 Annerley Rd Woolloongabba 4102; (07) 3391 2169). Bulk olives, canned goods, nuts and legumes. Typical deli-type foods.
- All India Foods Pty Ltd (31 Balaclava St Woolloongabba QLD 4102; (07) 3391 1420). Awesome range of bulk spices, legumes (lots of dal!) and oil.

 
Markets

Around Brisbane, there are a few markets that are great for cheap fruit + veg, and some tasty gourmet treats.
- Green Flea markets (at Davies Park in West End every Saturday, 6am – 2pm), is probably my favourite, although they’ve become super crowded recently. They have really cheap fruit and veg, potted herbs, fresh flowers, olives etcetc. The markets also feature the amazing 'Ykillamoocow' (http://www.ykillamoocow.com/) stall, selling vegan versions of pies, sausage rolls, dagwood dogs and samosas. (They can be reached on 0423352599 for catering.)
- Farmer’s Markets (2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month at the Powerhouse in Lamington St New Farm by the river - http://www.janpower.com/). This is not quite as vegan friendly as other markets, but you can still pick up some lovely produce and products.
- Northey Street Farm markets (Corner of Northey and Victoria Streets, Windsor, 6 – 11am Saturday mornings - http://www.northeystreetcityfarm.org.au/). These markets are sort of like a smaller, all-organic version of the Green Flea markets. Situated within the city farm’s grounds (near their café), the stalls provide quality organic fruit + veg, as well as breads and other products. As a bonus, it’s not too far to head to Organic Essentials over at Grange afterward (although the store do have a stall at the market).

Gold Coast section - not updated recently

Tian Ran (Shop 8 / 2462 Gold Coast Highway Mermaid Beach; 5572 0678)
Something very similar to Magic Wok, with pretty affordable prices. Veryveryvery tasty.

Magic Apple (Shop 2, Fifth Avenue Burleigh Heads; 5576 2177)
Like a vegetarian version of the Forest.

Tan's - fish + chip shop @ Burleigh Heads
Although it's a fish and chippery, this place does a killer grilled tofu (I recommend with satay sauce) + chips, and you can also get tofu wraps + burgers. Mmmm. It's also pretty cheap.





If you have any questions, or suggestions, drop a comment! I would love to be able to discover more places around Brisbane to add to this. Feel free to pimp this out to people who might be interested.