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North Shore - Secret Sydney

Indonesian rock star convicted of porn

February 1st 2011 01:56

JAKARTA, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Indonesia's hottest rock star was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison under the country's Muslim-influenced, anti-pornography laws.

Nazril "Ariel" Irham is the first person to be sentenced under Indonesia's new anti-pornography laws instituted in 2008 at the behest of the Muslim coalition under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday.

Irham's conviction Monday came after personal sex videos went viral after being stolen from his laptop.

Presiding Judge Singgih Budi Prakoso accused Nazril of showing no remorse and providing "an opportunity for others to spread, produce and prepare a pornographic video."

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Posted By: sam chalmers - Category: North Shore

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World Youth Day!

July 3rd 2008 00:45

Sydney-siders face 'unreasonable interference' during World Youth Day

Pope Benedict addresses a youth rally crowd

Pope Benedict will arrive in Sydney amid tight security. (Reuters, file photo: Erin Siegal)

Draconian, repugnant and unnecessary. These are just a few of the criticisms of special regulations coming into force for the upcoming Catholic World Youth Day event in Sydney.

Civil libertarians and legal experts say the regulations could see situations such as someone deemed to be wearing an offensive T-shirt being arrested and given a hefty fine.

New South Wales Police say the measures are designed simply to ensure that World Youth Day is a peaceful and happy event.

The event runs from July 15 to July 20, but from today until the end of the month the regulations come into force.

Under the regime SES and Rural Fire Service volunteers will assist police in bag checks at World Youth Day locations.

And anyone deemed to be causing annoyance could be arrested and fined up to $5,500.

New South Wales deputy police commissioner Dave Owens says the regulations do not restrict democratic rights.

"If people wish to lawfully protest, we will facilitate those protests as long as they are law abiding," he said.

"Police officers always maintain a discretion, and I expect them to use that discretion."

There have been suggestions that people could be arrested if they wear a T-shirt that promotes the use of condoms. Mr Owens refused to rule that out.

"There are individual circumstances that will have to be dealt with individually," he said.

'Repugnant'

President of the New South Wales Bar Association Anna Katzmann says she does not understand why the regulations have been brought in.

"They are repugnant for two reasons," she said.

"First of all the Government has by-passed the normal parliamentary scrutiny that would be available if they were introduced by an Act of Parliament," she said.

"Secondly they are an unreasonable interference with people's freedom of speech and movement."

She says there is a chance people could be arrested for trivial offences in the areas that have been declared as special World Youth Day zones.

"These World Youth Day-declared areas are numerous and they encompass places like Sydney University and the Opera House. Places that you and I would travel to regularly, not just churches or church schools," she said.

New South Wales Council of Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy says he is opposed to the proposed measures.

"A police officer may find someone's T-shirt annoying and on that basis issue them with a fine," he said.

"That sort of thing is likely to escalate any problems that occur rather than prevent them."

The Greens have joined civil libertarians and the Bar Association in calling for the regulations to be cancelled.

Based on an AM report by Barbara Miller.

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Posted By: Troy McNaughton - Category: Rants, Chai, Paraphernalia, Inner West, CBD, North Shore, North West, West, South, Miscellany, Food

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Be a Sydney Real Estate Copywriter!

January 15th 2008 07:15

Be a Sydney Real Estate Copywriter!
Sick of unpaid blogging? Sydney’s booming housing market offers a career opportunity for writing enthusiasts. Take a look at your local realo’s printed glossy advertising vehicle, or domain.com. You don’t even need a command of English to crank out this kind of copy—one ad boasted that the unit was located in a ‘sort-after’ area—just an affinity for frogshit.

I nearly choked on my coffee when I spotted an ad for the North Sydney rental dump I used to live in. The author shows an astounding talent for euphemisms and flowery adjectives worthy of Mills & Boon.

Why should someone else get paid to do this? Why not me? I’ve decided to give it a try…

Rooty Hill ambience, Liberal voter postcode!

Late Victorian gem, chopped into three flats by an enterprising landlord with a passion for DIY and a jones for illegal wiring.

Nestled between the shabby gentility of Flat 1 (sweeping view of blocks of flats with sweeping harbour views) and the edgy cool of Flat 3 (al fresco shower and loo in weed-choked courtyard), Flat 2 offers the discerning tenant the following prestige amenities:

•Vintage kitchen appliances: H.G. Palmer fridge featuring solid ice block freezer compartment; Metters Slimline stove with ornamental toaster tray, non-functional burners, and heritage bits of dried egg
•Wall-to-wall carpet in trendy Rental Brown; bathroom tiles in Barf Camouflage
•70s Orgasmatron shower unit drains freely into the sewer, without the encumbrance of a water seal. During hot showers, the odour of steaming effluvia adds an exotic Calcutta vibe to this charming retro element
•Handy proximity to Kirribilli’s premium-priced eateries
•Nearby coffee shops with outside tables offer ample opportunities for public preening
•Distinguished demographic: from the P.M. in Kirribilli House, to the colourful denizens of Greenway Public Housing, to the wanker who roars down Carabella Avenue in his red Ferrari, this neighbourhood truly has it all!

A short stroll to the Telstra payphone, the Australia Post box, and all the varied pleasures of this enviably chic and oh-so-exclusive area. Ring 0400 SUC KER for a guided tour. (Those with impeccable references need only enquire.)

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Posted By: Mitchell Hooter - Category: North Shore

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NYE Sydney--where's the best place to be?

January 6th 2008 03:21

You would think that Kirribilli, with its proximity to the Harbour Bridge, would be the perfect spot to spend New Year's Eve. It is, if you have a unit with a harbour-facing balcony. But in years past, I've often had to batten down the hatches of my ground-floor unit, stay indoors, and miss the fireworks. Why?

--Throngs of bogans clogging the trains and ferries
--Bogan single mothers with two or three screaming children in tow
--Drunken bogans throwing/smashing/pissing into their empty beer bottles
--Aggro/drug-affected bogans swearing/leering/disrobing

God, how I envied the champagne-sipping yuppie snots perched on their balconies, watching the fireworks far above the unruly proles.

This year was different. Police blocked off the neighbourhood and performed bag searches, letting no BYO alcohol or glass into the area after noon. Kirribilli was crowded, but not dangerously so. And the crowds were generally well-behaved. Three North Americans did climb on top of the Beulah Street ferry shelter, strip to their shorts, and jump into the Harbour to the cheers of their fellow travellers, but no one got hurt. One tipsy young man was loudly recounting some sexual adventures, but when he caught my eye, he apologised and wished me a happy new year.

I watched the nine o'clock and the midnight fireworks from different vantage points near the water--one with a view of the Opera House, one with a view of the Bridge. Between the two observation points, I got a complete view of the show without being squashed in a crowd.

New Year's morning, there were a few broken bottles and some rubbish, but this was easy to ignore. An atmosphere of celebration and goodwill lingered. Fitness buffs wished me a happy new year as they jogged past my front verandah as I sipped my first coffee of 2008.

Where were you on NYE? Was it good? Bad? Overrated?

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Posted By: Mitchell Hooter - Category: North Shore

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Thelma & Louise do Neutral Bay

July 4th 2006 18:07

I suppose it depends on your personal experience with Thelma and Louise as to what kind of connotations the film has for you.

I can’t get past the final scene – erm, spoiler ahead – where they drive the car off the cliff; the rest of the movie didn’t leave much of an impression except Brad Pitt looking skanky and oh so attractive in a bad boy kind of way.

But because of this I have very mixed feelings about a café called Thelma & Louise, especially since it’s right on the water and although I didn’t look at it and get our my tape measure or anything, I’m sure you could drive a car into the harbour if you really wanted.

It’s at Shop 1/1 Hayes Street, Neutral Bay Wharf (ph 02 9953 7754 – no seriously, you might want to book) and happens to be within easy walking distance from my favourite post-party-in-the-Cremorne-area crash pad. *Salute* to Miss C. Sadly it is no more.

But I get the distinct impression this little café has been the day-after refuge of many in the area who are dying for a big breakfast.

Going with the movie theme as well as the café’s strange little business card icon (two happy women on a go-cart holding food… weird and obviously trying to dispel that suicidal memory of mine), it’s a big favourite for weekend brunch for girlfriends, couples and families, all of the trendy Neutral Bay variety. If you’re not big on designer babies with their designer prams besieging you at your table, give it a miss.

It’s an odd little place, with simple décor and a lovely view, but you can’t help but feel you are paying their real estate rent one coffee at a time. The meals are a bit trendy (square plates, you know the sort) and the cups are a bit small for what you pay, but it DOES have a certain charm.

The quite pregnant waitress was attentive and quick considering her condition, and obviously quite intuitive because she said she hoped I felt better soon…

The coffee WAS lovely, as was the muesli, but I’ve had better big breakfasts for $8 than the girls were eating for double that. I don’t object to coughing up for good cafes, but it’d better taste like what you paid. Here, the muesli almost came through; the big breakfast did not.

Then again it’s always worth it when you have that craving for fat, grease, protein and carbs and Maccas is nowhere you could legally drive to…

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Posted By: amy - Category: North Shore

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Bald Men Know Chocolate: Max Brenner

June 15th 2006 18:00

What happens when your regular late night café haunt closes?

You reconvene, you brainstorm, you wrack your respective brains (because it’s not polite to wrack others’) for other locations for an already-organised coffee.

At 8pm last Sunday, Belaroma in Lindfield was closed. For no good reason I could see. After all, there’s not a lot to be seen in a darkened café.

What to do what to do what a to-do. This coffee convention (as in convening for coffee… I’m not THAT much of a coffee geek) had been planned for at least 3 weeks and on the eve of StuVac proper we were not about to let our varied travel investments be for naught. Nought. Apparently you can spell it either way.

So we tripped down the Pacific Highway, onto Mona Vale Road, past the “yoothz” loitering menacingly by the side of the road, past Mona Vale shopping centre, to the well-hidden but apparently well-known and well-patronised Max Brenner’s at Shop 1, Ground Floor, 235 Monavale Rd, St Ives. For other franchises click here.

Yes, it’s a chain. But not a coffee chain. A chocolate chain. Much like Death by Chocolate or that other one that was around before Max Brenner.

Here was the place to be on a Sunday evening – it was packed with kids too young to drink but too old to be accompanied by their parents. Apparently it’s a big favourite with the locals and it was open well into the night (I think we left about 10.30ish).

And yes, it serves coffee. It even serves it without the chocolate element. But really, what’s the point of that?

And we like weirdo mugs that are shaped more like a tear-drop when you look at it from the top – perfect for pouring straight into your mouth. And of course after your mocha, you might need a chocolate lick for dessert: the cheapest thing on the menu for only $2, a pot of melted chocolate and a paddle.

Simple pleasures my friends, simple pleasures.

But it’s not all fun and games. It was REALLY hard to find a table at 8pm. Easier as the night went on, and for the caffeine-sensitive among us, perhaps a hot chocolate makes more sense on a Sunday night.

So if you’re ever at a loss for late night venues or just can’t sate your chocolate craving with 7-11 overpriced Cadbury’s, check out the bald man, creating “chocolate culture”.

*NB: you have to like teenagers and women of all ages. These are the two main demographics of such an establishment. Mums at all hours, and teenagers after hours. No picking up boys – they’re only there with their mums and girlfriends, and you DON’T want to assume wrong with that distinction. Eww….

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Posted By: amy - Category: North Shore

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Late Night Lattes @ Belaroma

April 19th 2006 06:23

Alright, so I thought Belaroma was just pretentious pseudo-Italiano. But my good friend the Babelfish informs me that while Belaroma means nothing, bel aroma means “Rome bleats.” Awesome name!

Ok, its possible that they were going for bel aroma, which translates as “beautiful aroma.” And I won’t deny that from time to time Belaroma, Shop 1/2, 303 Pacific Highway, Lindfield does have some tasty wafts to offer. Look it up. But more than coffee (which is acceptable though overpriced at $3.50, so really it’d wanna be bloody brilliant), this particular café, well patronised by most of the North Shore, has culinary offerings that would put many restaurants to shame.

There is always sushi, as well as traditional café sandwiches (get your chops around the smoked salmon open sandwich – to die for) and melts (for the chicken/avocado/cheese enthusiasts among us), but at night the menu eats all the leftovers from the day and doubles in size.

mmm Mortal Sin

I don’t mean you’re stuck with bubble-and-squeak, but instead you get a vast dinner menu with particularly delicious specials (there’s a deal if you buy two) involving fish or some gourmet vegetarian delights. They have the usual satisfying cakes of course, including the increasingly popular ‘Mortal Sin’ - some deathly combination of chocolate mousse, cheese cake, chocolate biscuit base and another layer that escapes me right now – and cheesecakes that always get good reviews.

Be warned, however: it’s a very popular dinner choice most nights of the week since its open late (sometimes until after 10pm), easy to get to by car, and by the train line - if you have more than two people I’d recommend booking on (02) 9416 8392. We can add this one to our Late Lattes series – if you’re still there talking and you can persuade the next table to do the same, the staff are generally quite obliging in staying open.

It’s also a good venue for staking out the local member for the electorate of Davidson – the offices are within spitting distance.

First Date - Oleg Zhivetin

Great for a girlie get-together, family quality time and the first date after you ring the phone number you found in your phone the next morning – it’s light enough for you to see what you got – Belaroma is a local favourite for the food, the convenience, and the opening hours.

Til next time, a man went to his psychiatrist and said, "Every time I drink my coffee, I get a stabbing pain in my right eye."
The psychiatrist said, "Well, have you tried taking the spoon out?"

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Posted By: amy - Category: North Shore

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