mmmblog

Oh America...Prop 8 passed...I am so sad as I thought things were changing for the better for you. Imagine being told that your legal marriage...suddenly wasn't a happening thing anymore.

Sad.

Mal and Grant yowling 'I Got You Babe' at Sporties last Friday night. (Cats howl, dogs flatten ears)

My 35th birthday party is on this weekend. A small group of friends, PS3s' 'Singstar' and mojitos should ensure a good time all round!

Hello everyone,

Shoot is done - editing begins. A lot of laughs were had, and we got just what we needed. Pity the aliens had to die in the crowd scene (Spoiler!)




Look for the online videos at www.lifelinebookfest.com and the TVC just about everywhere in December/January!

First day of shoot is over. Performances, timing and general composition tight and good. Heads reasonably good but don't quite connect to our real heads seamlessly, so some digital postproduction is gonna be required. But if that's the worst thing to come out of this shoot I am not complaining.




What was hilarious was the amount of traffic that stopped, people who came out of shops and honks and shouts we got at the 5 locations we shot at today. I decided to respond to all by opening my eyes wide and awkwardly making a peace sign - it seemed to go down a treat.

In preparation for playing the lead alien in a statewide television commercial I am producing (and acting in) this Friday I started shaving my head. Didn't have the balls to go all the way yet - not till Thursday when it all comes off. I kinda like the shaved on top / beard on bottom look - will suit me well when my hair falls out for real in...well, the not too distant future I suspect.

I get prosthetics (a conehead), blue contact lenses and hair extensions - on my goatee, as well as a Galaxy-Quest style outfit. Standard saturday night getup really. Will post more pics as we progress...

On Monday I travelled to Julia Creek - a beautiful remote part of the north west of Queensland - cattle country - no mobile reception, no internet - to research a tender I was invited to apply for - for a documentary on the region. It's right near the hotel Crododile Dundee was shot in.




I flew in to Mount Isa and then drove three hours to my destination. Lots of photos, lots of endless driving on roads with not a soul around, stopping at watering holes, cattle stations, outback pubs...




Spinafex on the road and connecting with Australia. About as far from Tokyo as you can get in a week!





Even if I don't win the tender (hopefully I'm in with a good chance as I had some very in-depth meetings with the tourism board making the decision) then I consider myself lucky for being able to see more of this wide brown land.

Heading out from Japan back home, happier than ever to be an Aussie but incredibly grateful for another safe trip to another amazing part of this amazing world....

To celebrate, we had some photobooth fun on the bullet train.

MonsterMal!




Bullet train so faaaast-des!


Pop art baby


Um, manga?


Trippy!

One of the funnest nights ever - late night Karaoke in the middle of Shinjuku:



I Got You Babe
Missionary Man
Faith
(all screamed with 'I did it myyyyy waaaaaaay' levels of enthusiasm)


Then the drunk stumble back to hotel. Darn sake!



It was alllllll a blur at that point. I've done far more wild things in Tokyo than I thought little innocent me was capable of. The city has that effect on you...


That is all Tokyo des neeeeeee!

Tags: super drunk

Right in the middle of Tokyo is a huge shopping centre complex. I am a sworn enemy of shopping and consumerism, but I'd be willing to make an exception for this shopping centre. Any idea why?




Why yes, that's right - because it's got a great big honking Intamin hypercoaster running through it!




It's one of the tallest steel coasters in the world. Impressive! It was pouring rain when I was there so no ridey rides yet, but the week is long and I shall go back. Oh yes, I shall. Tokyo is an amazing city. I can't stop eating their yummy food, thus I am getting amazingly fat. Went to Tokyo DisneySea today - very lame. The loop on Raging Spirits and the fast launch bit on Journey to the Centre of the Earth were the only cool bits in the whole park!

I spent the day riding a little three-speeder around Kyoto and had one of the most fantastic days in a long time. The place is magic and the people are incredible - riding down super busy streets and into public gardens, up to temples and shrines...never have any troubles with cars or buses or other riders, or pedestrians as they are all very observant over here - there's very few street signs to tell you to stop or look out either.

Also, due to the culture, I don't think they would run you over - they would consider it rude.

Tomorrow - Tokyo. Life is good. More pics here if anyone is interested (including the tale of The Bullet Train That Ate Our Luggage): http://picasaweb.google.com/malcolm.burt/Japan08

Here's an image from an all-day video shoot we did for three new web promo videos for my company. They will either end up hilarious and sharp and get me some more nice clients, or people will scratch their heads and I will quietly delete them. We shall see in about three weeks.

M

-4% since November 07!

In keeping with the music theme, see this awesome t-shirt I found on the web. Couldn't have said it better myself.

At the end of every year I like to make a mental posting of my top 5 films and songs for the year. Since we now live in the age of 'Publish every unfiltered thought, regardless of banality' I decided I would go ahead and post my list. So, apropros of nothing (I've always wanted to say that) here they are. The extra neat thing is they don't need to be from this year, or even this decade - it's just the stuff you thought was great. In this way, you could have 2001 top the list every year. See, easy!

MUSIC

1. SexyBack (Justine Timberlake). Yup, #1. I know some friends are going to bag me for not pegging some unpronounceable Yugoslavian hymn with a backing track of a swan's neck being twanged with a stone-age hunting implement (isn't that what 'creatives' are meant to go for?) but admit it - this stupid song is like aural smack. First time I heard it (driving from Washington DC in between listening to the Playboy Channel with John) we decided the pop world was plumbing new depths, then it wedged itself in my head and stayed there. BTW, it's MUCH better if you sing the...chorus? as 'Go Hippie Go, Go Hippie Go, Go Hippie Go, Go Hippie Go (repeat 500 times). PS Justin isn't, and will never be 'sexy' nor 'dangerous'.

2. Don't Feel Like Dancin' (Scissor Sisters) - Instant classic. Never gets old. Thumpy piano bass, smooth synth, squeaky voices, strange in-joke gay nudges 'all you do is change your clothes and call that versatile' add up to one tasty treat.

3. Rock This Party (Bob Sinclair) - This is barely even a song. So why can't I get enough of it? Probably the insanely happy dance vibe it radiates. That and, of course, screeching 'Everybody Dance Now' in the right bits. Try NOT tapping something when it comes on.

4. I Don't Love You (My Chemical Romance) - An effortless theatrical stadium cock-rock banger with all the drama, screeching and love-tortured-lyrics you could want. Plus that thrillingly bitter gritted-teeth whisper-to-a-scream end bit. And the guy singing it is wearing more makeup than a drag queen. God, I love this song.

5. Coming Up (Paul McCartney) - A perfect pop song from the master. Cannot be played loud enough or often enough. He's doing some weird pre-vocoder voice computerising thing and I love it. Who doesn't want to sing along with the twangy guitar on the first line 'You wanna love...to last forever...one that'll never...fade away...' - then onto that brilliant ascending-chord chorus. The muse may have faded now though along with his doggy current wife - his latest 'Memory Almost Full' album is a DRAG! Does anyone have a version of this song that ISN'T the live version though? Can't find that dang thing anywhere.

6. Fidelity (Regina Spector) - Oh sure, people will write her off as a one-hitter, but what a hit to dine off for the rest of your life! The drums kick in at just the right bit, the pained broken hearted never-gonna-happen tone, and of COURSE the little 'break my he-e-o-oar-art' vocal tic makes this a little indie classic. Also the dreamy slide from the 'Gonna get be-uh, be-uh be-uh be-uhhhHHHHhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaIiiii never loved nobody fully' near the end is just magic.

7. Wind It Up (Gwen Stefani) Another contender for a song which possibly doesn't even qualify as a 'song' but had lots of interesting blips and boops and yodels, plus a slammin' beat and the creepy/ridiculously sparse bits of smashed up goatherding music flitting through it - not to mention the weird off-tune, relating-to-nothing synthesiser that farts along happily through it all. Sure, it's trying HARD, but it works.

8. Gimme More (Slutney Spears) Can't help it, a stupid, robot-written POS that I'm sure Britney hasn't even heard yet, but it's such a trash-culture/faux 'sexy'/trainwreck 'event' I couldn't stop liking it. Well, like porn - you like it till you're done then you're racing for the 'stop' button with a grimace.


FILMS

1. 2001. Every time I read another review or get yet another frigging book about this movie I want to run back home and watch it again. You know how you hear about those film nerds who buy the same film over and over again every time it's released in a new medium? That's me. 'I'm sorry. Dave.'

2. The Shining. Endless steadicammy goodness. Glacial pace. 'Hello. Danny.'

(Stanley's sitting on top of the list and he ain't budgin')

3. Pan's Labyrinth - I watched this at the movies with a friend and was almost sick with fear that this perfect film would make a misstep and fuck up before the ending. Didn't. Staggeringly brilliant film, which, cause it's subtitled, nobody saw. Gotta watch dem Transformers smash shit up instead, yo!

4. Transformers - A dazzling, stupid, fun dumbass blow-shit-up film designed to be played LOUD and you DRUNK!

5. Matrix. (NOT 2 and 3, which should simply be IGNORED). Spot-on mashup of so many ingredients that hit the mark like nothing in the last ten years. And somehow, like Dracula, survives having Keanu in it. (Really, how much cock could that useless man have swallowed in Hollywood to still have a fuckin' career?)

Notable mentions - Sunshine (Our sun is dying - what a brilliant beginning!), The Hunger, The Gift, The Descent (more to do with where I was and who i was with rather than any actual goodness about it).

Wow, that was fun. I might do TV shows next if I can be fucked.

Semi-naked vapid post in underwear = lotsa comments

Sweet little cake post (with no underwear pics) = no comments

*Livejournal suspicions CONFIRMED*

A pastry chef friend of mine made a special strawberry cheesecake just for me to welcome me to my new place. He came over and we had a lovely chat and I demurely nibbled on a piece appreciatively. Then after he left, I ate half of it. Now, at 2am, I woke up and gobbled the other half.

I was wondering what would happen from living alone. I think the answer is going to be 'fat'.

I'd post a pic of it, but well, the camera just didn't move fast enough.

This is the first time I have lived by myself, ever (at 33...I know), but I pushed the budget to the limit and am now settling in to a groovy little one-bedroom right near my office, the gym and the Brisbane River.

Life is good. At least I hope it will be. I have vague fears of staying up till 4am every morning and/or wearing undies on my head and having nobody to tell me it's wrong. We shall see.

Favourite rides: Xcelerator, Mystery Mine, Top Thrill Dragster, Tennessee Tornado, Maverick (in my dreams, we waited four hours in the rain to be told it was broken), Dave, Storm Runner, Vertical Velocity, Raging Bull, X, Tatsu, Goliath.

I gotta tell you, the gay and lesbian film festival organisers around the world sure are on top of things. Since my 12 part SBS doco series 'Frocks Off' began airing (I know it sounds dainty, but it's a series of 12 often harrowing Australian women's stories as related to the most important dress in their lives), festivals have been clamoring for the story of Jamel - a pre-op transexual who recounts the first dress she tried on (her mums sundress), the subsequent cornering by her ethnic, very-displeased father, and the story of his slow acceptance, and death. It's the only GLBT story in the pack, but has so far been accepted into film festivals from Ontario to London, Miami and Sydney. I will be screening it on the mmmedia website in the coming weeks too.

Jamel is a champion - she's done makeup for several of my productions and is one of the sweetest, most balanced people I have met - having truly faced her demons. Go Jamel! Here's a pic of us at one of the festivals that screened the film in Sydney last year...