A Very Social Weekend
Feb. 26th, 2024 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipWith a temporary respite from the rigors of full-time and full-time study, I engaged in a very social weekend. On Friday night I hosted an "Elder Perth Migrants Dinner" with Liana F., Julie A., Erica H., James N., Simon S., and Justine Mc (not a Perth migrant). Dinner consisted of "Pasifika Gnocchi", including various sweet potatoes from the region, and an "Australian mess" (an Eton mess on a pavlova). For entertainment, I constructed an appropriate playlist of our favourites from 1977 to 1994, taking us back to the days of the Red Parrot and The Firm, with a couple of fairly obscure Perth bands (And An A, Accelerated Men) being included. Whilst far from all the "Perth goth migrants" that I know in this city, it was pretty much the capacity I could fit around this dining table and certainly acts as inspiration for further events. It was certainly a very animated evening and I think we finally finished up around 3 am.
The following day was the RPG Review Cooperative Annual General Meeting at The Rose Hotel (not on Rose Street) with Andrew D., Charmaine D., Penny D., Liz B., Karl B., Rodney B., Michael C., Tim R., and Andrew Mc with Jay P., Adrian S., and Andrew P online). It was a good year for the Cooperative with improvements in membership, finances, and activities, even if our flagship webzine had only a single issue in the year. There was an excellent discussion about the use of AI-generated material in publications; we've decided to accept it as long it is credited as such. Afterward, I visited Brendan E., with Kerrie H. arriving later, and watched a few episodes of the WWII drama "The Liberator", based on the extraordinary journey of the 157th Infantry Regiment in Italy and beyond. After that, had dinner with Anthony L, Robin M, Sara, and Matthew W., where there was a fair bit of discussion around the recent fire at the See Yup Temple.
For Sunday, the big event was the Melbourne Drone Orchestra at the Mission to Seafarers. The building has been an oddity that I've observed for more than twenty years, so it was quite an adventure to step inside this old-world and quirky Spanish mission-styled building. The Drone Orchestra event was held in the Nora Dome, originally a gymnasium for sailors, and with the shape providing superb acoustics. The event itself consisted of some experimental-industrial musicians, including my dear friend Carla L. who played a combination of bass and theremin. Other musicians turned it up a notch and by the end, there were people performing drums and sax, and even drums, guitar, and vocals simultaneously. The evening also witnessed the opportunity to catch up with folk musician Penelope S., whom I haven't seen in many years, and also Liana F., who invited me along in the first place. At the end of the evening a few of us (Erica H., Sophie P., Shane decamped to The Rookery for late-night kir royale cocktails and discussion about Australian arthouse films.
The following day was the RPG Review Cooperative Annual General Meeting at The Rose Hotel (not on Rose Street) with Andrew D., Charmaine D., Penny D., Liz B., Karl B., Rodney B., Michael C., Tim R., and Andrew Mc with Jay P., Adrian S., and Andrew P online). It was a good year for the Cooperative with improvements in membership, finances, and activities, even if our flagship webzine had only a single issue in the year. There was an excellent discussion about the use of AI-generated material in publications; we've decided to accept it as long it is credited as such. Afterward, I visited Brendan E., with Kerrie H. arriving later, and watched a few episodes of the WWII drama "The Liberator", based on the extraordinary journey of the 157th Infantry Regiment in Italy and beyond. After that, had dinner with Anthony L, Robin M, Sara, and Matthew W., where there was a fair bit of discussion around the recent fire at the See Yup Temple.
For Sunday, the big event was the Melbourne Drone Orchestra at the Mission to Seafarers. The building has been an oddity that I've observed for more than twenty years, so it was quite an adventure to step inside this old-world and quirky Spanish mission-styled building. The Drone Orchestra event was held in the Nora Dome, originally a gymnasium for sailors, and with the shape providing superb acoustics. The event itself consisted of some experimental-industrial musicians, including my dear friend Carla L. who played a combination of bass and theremin. Other musicians turned it up a notch and by the end, there were people performing drums and sax, and even drums, guitar, and vocals simultaneously. The evening also witnessed the opportunity to catch up with folk musician Penelope S., whom I haven't seen in many years, and also Liana F., who invited me along in the first place. At the end of the evening a few of us (Erica H., Sophie P., Shane decamped to The Rookery for late-night kir royale cocktails and discussion about Australian arthouse films.
