The sensational Nanne has a new single coming. It’s a cover of a classic Tomas Ledin song. Nanne’s version is fabulous. I Natt Är Jag Din is coming out as a physical single in Sweden and I can’t wait to buy it. More info on the actual release when it comes to hand.
Meanwhile, for all things Nanne make sure you check out her website: www.nanne.se
It could have been named after me.
Of course, it wasn’t helped by the fact that I had 4 Balfours pasties on my first day in Adelaide. I only enjoyed 2 of them…the other 2 were just because they were there and I was there – a deadly combination. So that bloated me to the side of a house and made a couple of formerly comfortable-fitting T-Shirts suddenly feel impossibly tight on me.
But I was totally shocked. I really need to do something about it. It’s not good for my health or my self-confidence. I remember getting down to about 78/79 in a weight loss challenge a few years ago. Ideally I should be about 75kg. But that ain’t gonna happen any time soon.
As soon as Yoda gets back from his cruise, he’ll be roped into helping me lose some of this overt pudginess. Of couse my legs are thin, my arms are thin…it’s all gone to my tummy and my face. Thanks for nothing!
Why haven’t they invented a weight loss pill that actually works? Is that too much to ask!!!
I’m back from spending the weekend in Adelaide. it was my Dad’s birthday and I wanted to go out with him and my brother. Unbeknowns to me, my niece and her partner were also in town and staying at Dad’s place. So it was a great family lunch at a nearby pub with a couple of long – and I mean looooong – term family friends joining us.
JudgeG with the neice and the Dad!
The weather was hot, hot, hot. Yesterday was 36C or something. Luckily it wasn’t too humid – Sydney had the humidity saved for my return last night. Within 5 minutes of being out of the airconditioned terminal, I was sweating like a grunter.
No Woolworths in Rundle Mall? NOT HAPPY, JAN!
A big surprise to me on my first walk through of Rundle Mall – the main shopping area of Adelaide – was that Woolworths had closed down. I was gobsmacked! I actually walked past it a few times because I didn’t believe it. I saw a few other people looking stunned as well.
Woolies in Rundle Mall is not just a shop, it’s an institution. It’s been there as long as I can remember and I go back to the um, well…let’s not talk about how far I go back. As well as being an institution, it’s also sorely needed. It provides everything from internet cafe access to a supermarket to general merchandise to alcohol. There’s nothing else like it in the Mall.
I kept involuntarily heading there everytime I went into the Mall…it was like auto-pilot. It’s being completely renovated and not opening until the end of the year. Too long, too long, I say! And I do hope they don’t try and turn it into some uber-modern, uber-stylish department store experience – that’s not why people go to Woolies and not why it has become such a huge success and a key part of Rundle Mall. I was thinking about or local Big-W at Campsie in Sydney which was completely renovated a year or so ago and now carries half the stuff it used to, most of it more expensive and less useful than before. It’s hardly worth going anymore. Please, please don’t let that happen to Woolies in Rundle Mall. It’s part of the town’s history!
Harris Scarfe...always on sale!
Across the road from the now defunct Woolies, Harris Scarfe – Adelaide’s downmarket department store – was having a sale. Another sale. I thought to myself “have I ever been in Adelaide when Harris Scarfe wasn’t having a sale?” I think not. Still, it’s a good shop and another part of Adelaide ’s history.
My mother used to shop there every Friday afternoon after work – as well as John Martin’s, Myer and Cox Foys of course. Mum did all the big shops. And she had a “charge card” at most of them. I’d follow her around some Fridays if I was on school holidays as she went from store to store. She’d pay $5 off this account and $5 off that one. And no visit to the city was complete without a visit to the Myer Bargain Basement (sadly long gone) to see if there were any new Osti frocks to buy! It’s no wonder I’ve turned out to be such a shopaholic – I never had a chance!
The sun blazes down over Rundle Mall
I might have developed a bit of an instant tan on the weekend because the sun was blazing. I took this shot in Rundle Mall where, at this particular time, it was hot but not oppressively so. I just looked up and enjoyed the direct sunlight for a while and decided to snap off a shot. Now if I’d been in Sydney, I’d have been soaked after a few minutes thanks to the evil humidity which I still can’t deal with after living here for 25 years.
I also checked out the Hampshire Hotel, Adelaide’s only Gay pub. And again it was pretty dull. Perfect location, fabulous outdoor seating area and totally unimaginative management. I sat there lamenting “with the right management, this place could be huge.” But it’s Adelaide and nothing is going to change unfortunately.
I finished my time in my old home town by assembling and installing my brother’s new printer. He’s just bought a new Toshiba laptop and Canon multifunction device to go with it. We discovered on Sunday at 4.45pm that Canon had not supplied a USB cable with it. I raced to Dick Smith, arriving 4 minutes before 5pm – the time when all shops close in Adelaide on Sunday (yes, even the major supermarkets!) and picked up a USB cord. As the Canon manual hadn’t specified anything beyond “USB cable required” (with no illustration or description of which particular type of cable), I bought a standard USB cable which was precisely useless.
The software refused to install on the laptop without the printer being connected so everything came to screeching halt. Monday morning I went shopping for the correct USB cable and took a tram down to my brother’s place in the blazing heat to finish the installation job. It’s all working now – no thanks to cheap-arse Canon 
Crap service on Virgin Blue flight to Sydney
The holiday in Adelaide finished up with what must be the worst Virgin Blue flight I’ve ever had. Clunky old 737-700 which looked in need of a “Queer Eye” makeover combined with slow and hopeless service from the strangely ditzy and ineffectual cabin crew. No Diet Coke, warm beer only and no change. All delivered with the kind of slowness you’d expect in “Driving Miss Daisy.”
I don’t think I’ve ever really had a Virgin Blue flight like that. The cabin crew are usually on the ball, fast, efficient, bright and loads of fun. Still, I suppose we got there in one piece – that’s a blessing. Had it been Qantas the plane might have lost a part midflight due to the $2 maintenance job they do in Asia.
So that was my weekend: family, Adelaide, computers and oh yes, $7.50 for a 425ml glass of Stella at the Hampshire Hotel. Perhaps New York might be cheaper next time 
And what a way to begin. “Holding Out For a Hero” by Nanne, Charlotte Perrelli and Sonja Aldén! James has tickets to the dress rehearsal of the Melodifestivalen final in Stockholm in a few weeks. Lucky bastard!
There is apparently a studio recorded version of this song – but it isn’t known if it will be released commercially. Oh the injustice! I have my money out ready to buy right now!!!
Although I’m the least jingoistic person around these parts, when I saw this picture I thought “maybe a little patriotism isn’t such a bad thing?”
So if you’re an Aussie reading this, I say “Advance Australia Fair, True Blue, Once a jolly jumbuck” and all that other stuff.
What we like to see in an Australian!
Older n' Last Time
The program for the 2010 Mardi Gras Film festival has been released. With trailers.
I have just seen the trailer and synposis for “Older n’ Last Time.” I simply must see it immediately. I must have tickets immediately. No doubt Yoda will pfaff-pfaff about which movies he wants to see but I MUST see this one. Otherwise I will not be responsible for my actions!
In Older n Last Time David and John have been foster carers for the past 18 years and their two foster sons Rowen and Delk are leaving home. Rowen and his girlfriend are moving to the country and Delk and his boyfriend are moving in together. David wants to foster more children, but at 55, John is ready for a life without kids.
Josh, is Delk’s Boyfriend.
Josh is an only child.
Josh’s mother wants grandchildren.
She invites the boys to the Mountains for the weekend where she announces she has Sara and Katherine coming tomorrow to discuss the possibility of Josh being the father of the child the couple want to have.
Josh has never met this Lesbian couple let alone contemplated being a father.
I’ve had a major flashback sitting here at the PC tonight. To one of my favourite video clips of all time. And to a song that I am still gobsmacked was not #1 in every country in the world.
I’m going back a decade to when this was released – “Stars” by Roxette. The first time I saw this clip it just blew me away. Initially because of the singing ducks, I must admit. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I also loved the gratuitous shots of Stockholm throughout the clip. I get an emotional bump from that every time I watch it.
What really gets me teary though (for some reason!) is the portrayal of the family towards the end of the clip. We see the couple married, then with their first baby, then with their young family and finally older after their kids have moved out. But they’re still in love and still together. Maybe it’s my idea of the perfect Swedish family? I don’t know but I often have a cry when I see that part of the clip.
Back in 1999 I was two years into running the mailing list and fan community for the pop group whose name shall not be mentioned and it was all go, go, go. That year I visited the UK and the Netherlands in the colder months and had a glorious summer holiday in Stockholm – staying with Yoda who was living there at the time.
It was July and the weather in Stockholm was perfect. About 21 hours of sunshine a day. The A*Teens were also in their prime and it was fun to be in Sweden on the day of release of one of their mega-hit singles. Yoda and I were watching the “Weekly Hit Warning” which showed the A*Teens clip on the hour. “Veckans Hitvarning Presenteras av Most Wanted Music” the announcer said every hour before the clip was shown and it stuck in my head. I still say it occasionally today to get a laugh and share a memory with Yoda.
We spent a sizeable chunk of that week with our best Swedish friend Gustav who was still a blonde teenager at the time! Flash forward a decade to July 1999 and both Yoda and I were staying at Gustav’s place in Stockholm and he’s decidedly no longer a teenager and not that blonde anymore 
In April 1999, Yoda and I had been speeding down the highway from a town in the south of The Netherlands to Brussels in Belgium at about 150km/hr. Someone else was driving of course! I had a massive hangover from the night before and the car stereo was playing Roxette’s new “Have A Nice Day” album very loudly. People were asking me “what do you think” and all I could think was “I think you should turn it down before my head explodes.”
“Stars” was the highlight of that album and I expected it to be a mega-hit. Roxette weren’t in favour back then – they’d been “out of fashion” for a long time. But I really believed this song and this video were strong enough that it would just explode them back to the top of the charts. Seems very naïve today.
The fact that mainstream radio and the general public ignored “Stars” like a bad smell to me was testament to their stupidity. It didn’t stop the song and the video from being a special memory for me.
Let's do Oprah's Quiz!
I did the “Who Are You Meant To Be” quiz on the Oprah.com site and here are the results. They seem mostly accurate but with a few gigantic “what the?” clangers (e.g. careful with money???)
========================
YOU ARE STRIVING TO BE IN CONTROL
You are a leader: You approach everything as though you were born to be in charge. Confident, assertive, and decisive, you know what you want and you go after it. You also look out for family, friends, and community—you feel you know what’s best for them—and have no fear of confronting anyone who challenges your ideas. Taking the driver’s seat, you also generously donate time and energy to people and neighborhood projects.
What to watch out for: When you feel threatened, or others refuse to go along with your agenda, you can become confrontational and domineering, sometimes to the point of being dictatorial. Practice letting someone else take charge on occasion. Also try meditation; it can help you be-come more aware of your controlling impulses and ease the anxiety that may be provoking them.
Looking ahead: You discover your purpose when you take control of your environment. For you, finding a decision-making role is key. That could mean anything from producing a play to spearheading a global campaign for something you care about. In work, you’re suited for leadership positions in education, government, industry, finance, religious institutions, or politics. But you can find satisfaction anytime you’re given the autonomy to do things your own way.
YOUR SCORES
Many people have two or three strong striving styles, and they can all be important in leading you to the person you are meant to be. If you have a few “highest” scores, read each matching description, and see what rings most true.
Striving to help: 11
Striving to be recognized: 14
Striving to be creative: 15
Striving to be spontaneous: 11
Striving to be knowledgeable: 13
Striving to be secure: 15
Striving to be in control: 18
STRIVING TO HELP
You scored: 11
You are a nurturer: You are caring and supportive in your personal relationships as well as in your job. Unselfish and altruistic by nature, you often anticipate the needs of those around you before they are aware of them. If there is one thing that brings you satisfaction, it’s tending to others.
Read More…
This is totally gorgeous. The 2009 Children in Need medley. You can only be dazzled by the amount of work that must have been involved to create this. There’s a good background on the project here.
You can buy the download and the physical single as well. The download is available from 7Digital – when creating your account, just use a UK postcode like SE1 and that will ensure you can purchase from the store.
It’s for a good cause so go and buy it!
Nope, I'm not cut - satisfied now?
The things people search for on the internet……….
I’ve been having a look at the statistics for visitors to thebestjudge.com recently and have noticed some really interesting ways people find this site. The things people type into search engines never fail to bemuse me. Still, I suppose I’ve done the same thing so I shouldn’t be that surprised.
I’ve decided to answer some of the questions / search terms that frequently crop up and that somehow end up landing on www.thebestjudge.com.
First up – Matthew Mitcham. Australian Olympic Diver, prominent and fabulous out and proud Gay man. No, he is not circumcised. Yes, disappointing of course but, well, modern life in Australia and all that. Apparently his partner Lachlan is very, very well endowed.
That’s as much as I know and I hope that clears it up for all you curious Matt Mitcham fans.
Tom & Alex from TripleJ's Breakfast Show
On a completely irrelevant side note…and this could just be a ruse to mention them again..and also an excuse to put a picture up of them… Australian radio network TripleJ’s breakfast DJs, Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson, are both uncircumcised.
Interestingly, Alex’s father made sure Alex knew about cleaning underneath his foreskin from a very early age. Good for Alex’s dad. Wish more Australian parents did the same.
Most Australian guys born in the last 30 years are uncut – prior to that the opposite was true.
Okay, what’s next on the list??
Well, we’re still on everyone’s favourite search term – circumcision. People want to know if they are, can they get it done, how to tell if someone else is etc. etc. (Note to friends: See, it’s not just me!)
How do you know if you’re circumcised
Well, circumcision is one of my “special topics”as I’m sure my friends would tell you. To answer this question I have included a composite photograph showing an uncut penis on the left and a cut one on the right. I think it makes it pretty clear. You can click on the photo to see a bigger version of it.
Uncircumcised penis on the left, circumcised penis on the right
As far as the uncut/uncircumcised penis is concerned, please note that the skin that partially covers the head – the foreskin – can, in many cases, cover the complete head of the penis. The foreskin should retract when the penis becomes erect. If you are uncircumcised and you are having trouble or pain with the foreskin – perhaps it doesn’t retract at all etc. – you need to see your doctor. Yes it might be a little embarrassing but you don’t need to live with the problem and there are lots of ways your doctor can fix it.
Can I get circumcised? aka Can I get circumcised even though I’m older/an adult?
Yes you can. Some doctors specialise in it. You’ll possibly need to spend a bit of time wading through all the anti-circumcision hysteria – both on the internet and from much of the medicial profession. But a bit of research should help you find a sympathetic doctor. If your local doctor says no, then ask him to refer you to another doctor who will help you.
If you want to avoid all the psycho-anti-circ lobby and get some unbiased, clear information about circumcision, go to this link http://www.circlist.com/circhome.html which is a terrific resource.
How to tell if a guy is circumcised (at a bar for example)?
You can’t of course. Many American guys are, nearly all Jewish guys are, quite a few Muslim guys are….but there’s no definite way to tell upfront. You actually have to ask! Embarrassing, I know but that’s life all over, isn’t it?
Nokia E63 Mobile Phone - Red
Nokia E63 Battery Life
Well, I’ve already done a few posts about my beloved Nokia E63 but in short….
The battery life is terrific. Yes, it does reduce after about 6 months of continual use but it is still good compared to many other phones. I’m still getting a few days between recharges even though I’m using it also for emails, twittering and taking photos here and there.
After the first few charges – where I let the battery completely drain and then fully charged it – I normally let it get down to about two bars before charging. If you’re on two bars then you actually still have quite a bit of juice left so there’s no need to panic.
The good thing also is that the battery included is a common Nokia battery and, if necessary, it’s pretty easy to buy a replacement one if you really, really need to.
Samsung 32lb350
Nope, there’s not a lot of English language information about this Samsung 32″/81cm LCD television on the internet. A few weeks ago I helped pick out this one for a friend who needed to buy a new TV quickly.
What I can tell you is this: it was easy to set up apart from attaching the stand (which isn’t mentioned until later in the book of instructions). The quality of the picture and sound is very good and my friend is extremely happy with it and would recommend it. The price was $699 as it is a Series 3 TV and has been superceded by Series 4, 5, 6 etc. You might even getter a better price if you can negotiate with someone who isn’t an arsehole like the guy who served me at Bing Lee Marrickville!
The Saddle Bar, upstairs from the Midnight Shift
The Saddle Bar
This is a big one…lots of searches for this. The Saddle Bar being the new “men’s bar” upstairs at the Midnight Shift. I wrote a positive review because I really liked it as did my friend James. One person who has commented on this site has had a bad experience which he is having difficulty letting go of.
I think the Saddle Bar is a great addition to the Sydney Gay scene and I believe the management is good and positive and that the staff themselves are terrific. This, of course, is being written in January 2010 – if you’re reading this in 6 months time the story could be different.
The Midnight Shift have a website which covers both their downstairs bar and the Saddle Bar – but the information on the Saddle Bar is pretty sketchy – hopefully they’ll update it soon.
Right now I believe the Saddle Bar is a good place to be – it is a low-attitude, well run establishment and it’s the only one of its kind in Sydney.
So, there you go! (As Molly Meldrum would say)
And that’s the end of this little segment – I might delve into more unusual bestjudge.com search terms at a later point in time.
 | Branko on Time to get back in the saddle… |
 | Nick on Time to get back in the saddle… |
 | Hugh7 on How to Tell if a Guy is Circum… |
 | Barry P on How to Tell if a Guy is Circum… |
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