Apologies for the lack of posts this week, I’ve not been well.
But my photos from last Saturday’s St Patrick’s Day Parade are on flickr. Click here to see all 50 photos.
As usual, you can see them in large sizes, watch a slideshow of the photos or download them for your own use.
Australia v Great Britain international Rugby League Test Match last November at Lang Park.
Welcome to the liveblog! In the spirit of HG Nelson and Rampaging Roy Slaven I’ve set up the ‘card table‘ for the first game of the National Rugby League season, between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys, at Brisbane’s Lang Park.
Since I’m nowhere near as funny as HG and Roy, I have to bring my own special flavour to the liveblog. So I’ll be breaking the game down for people who don’t know much about it. Hundreds of thousands of people in the last decade have moved to Queensland from the southern states of Australia where Australian Rules Football is the main game. Like me a few years ago, most of those people don’t have a clue about how League works, and the Channel 9 commentary team do a very bad job of explaining the ins and outs of the game. Sometimes the ball changes hands and you’ll have no idea why. And that’s my job - to let you know what just happened, why it happened, and what effect it will have on the game.
It’s a huge weekend for Brisbane. First of all, the regular NRL (National Rugby League) season opens on Friday night with a game at Brisbane’s Lang Park between 2006 premiers (Grand Final winners) the Brisbane Broncos, and the North Queensland Cowboys.
I’ll be watching the game on TV and liveblogging it here on Brisbane is Home. I’ll be explaining all the stuff about League that I’ve learnt in the last few years since moving to Brisbane. I knew nothing about the game till I moved here, and I found that the Channel 9 commentators aren’t very good at explaining the finer points of the game to new fans, so that’ll be my job. You’re welcome to leave questions and comments.
I’ll be starting the liveblog when the broadcast begins at 7.30pm Friday, Brisbane time, which is 8.30pm in NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania, 8.00 pm in South Australia, 7.00 pm in the Northern Territory, and 6.30 pm in Western Australia. For people
Then Saturday is, of course, St Patrick’s Day. I’ll be heading to the march to take photos and they’ll be up on the site on Monday morning.
Then, on Saturday night, the Brisbane Lions AFL (Aussie Rules, or Australian Rules Football) team plays Carlton in Melbourne, in the Grand Final of the pre-season cup. There’s no live free-to air broadcast into Brisbane (grumble, mutter) but you can catch the final at 11.30pm on Channel 7. I’ll have a round-up of the match reports on Sunday.
So stay tuned to Brisbane Is Home for a huge Brisbane weekend.
There’s a quick note on the Brisbane Bullets website, saying that the team - who won the National Basketball League Grand Final last Friday - will be in the Queen Street Mall today at 11am. They’ll be meeting the Lord Mayor, and will be signing autographs.
So if you want to meet the NBL champions, get on down to the mall today. Click here to see the exact location of the mall.
Brisbane musician Joel Saunders, who plays experimental/country/hip hop, is giving away a free CD on his website. Click here for instructions about downloading the CD.
He’s also playing a free, all ages ‘Secret Show’ this Sunday, March 18th, at 3.45pm. You have to meet at Borders bookshop on the corner of Elizabeth and Albert St in the City at that time, and then you’ll be going to the venue.
I thought it was hot yesterday. When you’ve got the fan on high, and all it does is move the hot air around faster, it’s an uncomfortable day if you are hiding in an uninsulated cement-fibre box. In fact, it was the hottest day of the year so far.
However, this gives me a chance to plug the good people who set up personal weather stations around Brisbane. Here’s the results for the private personal weather station at Dutton Park, an inner south-side suburb.
This is a map of the personal weather stations in the Brisbane region, showing real-time info. Click on any of the stations to see more info about that station.
And if you like the idea of running your own weather station, click here to see info on how to buy a personal station for a few hundred dollars and hook it up to the internet.
What’s your favourite weather? Are you jealous of the heat here in Brisbane, or are you just trying to stay cool yourself? Leave a comment and let me know.
Coming at you a few days late, but last Friday night the Brisbane Bullets clinched the National Basketball League Grand Final by winning the best-of-five series 3 games to 1. Brisbane’s opponents were the Melbourne Tigers.
This is the first time in 20 years that Brisbane has won the NBL Grand Final.
If you’d like to play basketball in Brisbane, you can check out the two major associations, Brisbane Basketball and the Southern Districts Basketball Association.
What’s your favourite sport? Leave a comment and let me know!
I went shopping today. And because I don’t have a great deal of money right now, I needed some cheap food. And that is where a trip to Jack Purcell Meats comes in.
Jack Purcell Meats is the northern industrial zone at 46 Pritchard Rd, Virginia (click here to see the exact location). They have some premium stuff at high prices, but this article is about the amazing bargains you can get there.
Keep reading to see the details. But don’t read on if you’re not keen on seeing a photo of half a pig’s head.
Yes, you read that title correctly. This post is letting you know about a great music website, called - guess what? - Brisbane Music. Obviously, they went to the same “Why be subtle” School Of Headline Writing that I did.
The site is pretty new, but the best thing about it is their Brisbane Music player. They already have 14 tracks from the following artists:
Sonic Porno: Just Like You, Waiting Around
Glasshouse: Take Tomorrow, One in Five (click here for a YouTube vid of them being interviewed for Raw Audio)
Divisions: For Moomin, I Don’t Want to Find You, Hope for Resolution (YouTube user Dspry has some vids)
Asa Broomhall: Driving Back to You, Dark Eyed Darling, Get to You (2 YouTube vids here)
The Rocketsmiths: Some Time of Mine, Worth It
Mary Trembles: Too Much 1 (2 YouTube vids here)
Intercooler: Carving Others (and one video on YouTube).
Winds and Brackets: That Tight
Go and check out the band interviews and news on Brisbane Music as well. And if you’ve got any other Brisbane websites you’d like to see featured on Brisbane Is Home, leave a comment and let me know.
Today’s music is from Brisbane band Repeat Offender.
This clip, by YouTube user xmandaxx, is from the Smile or Die Christmas party at The Living Room (click here for map) on 16 December 2006.
Repeat Offender will appear on the Rock and Roll Cooking Show on Briz 31 TV (UHF-31) at 8.30pm on Thursday March 15th, and repeated at 10.30pm on Thursday March 17th (click here for the Brisbane is Home article about the R’n'RCS).
Do you make video clips of Brisbane bands? If you’ve got some reasonable quality clips you’d like to show off, leave a comment and let me know.
