Saturday, January 23, 2010

HALFTONE HEROES

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Halftone Heroes is an exhibition featuring, and paying tribute to (via the art of Matthew Dunn), the long lost work of wartime artist William Henry Fletcher (WHF). With the majority of his original art destroyed shortly after his death, and any publications featuring his work being long out of print, this is a rare opportunity to journey into the world of WHF.

Location:The Owl And The Pussycat Gallery, 34 Swan Street, Richmond
Time:6:00PM Thursday, January 28th

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

VALE THE TOTE

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It’s been a few years since the Tote Hotel in Collingwood was any sort of major hub for my social activities, which is one of the main reasons why I decided to stay away from the place during its final weekend of trading. The Tote has never been ‘my’ pub, and I had no desire to show up like an incongruous ghoul in order to lament the demise of a place I haven’t really frequented for some time.

I saw some great (and some less than great) live bands at the Tote, but the main thing I will miss about the place had already been taken away several years ago. Situated above the main bar and band room was the exotic confines of the Cobra Bar, decked out in bamboo with framed posters from old snake themed movies lining the walls, Phillipa would hold court behind the bar, lighting your cigarettes and serving up her superb cocktails with a fine hand and a sharp tongue.

Here in this often sweaty and cramped environment, we would gather to watch screenings of old 8mm films (some of which I organised myself), take in scatological plays performed by the Sissies & Sluts theatrical troupe, listen to DJs like Bebe Bombora and Betsy Jinx, watch burlesque dancers shake and shimmy, attend art exhibitions, or just sit and shoot the breeze over a cool beer, a hot pizza and some great music.

Things were never the same once Phillip gave up the reigns on the Cobra Bar – the name stayed the same, but the atmosphere was gone, and soon so was I. Going there became too depressing, like trying the chase the ghosts of a past. I kept the memories and moved on….

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Friday, January 15, 2010

FAREWELL AUNT PEG

Golden Age adult film star Juliet Anderson, AKA Aunt Peg (one of the original mature age porn film identities), was found dead at her home in Berkeley CA on Jan 11. She was 71 and had been suffering from Crohn's Disease for some time.
Besides her trailblazing adult career in the late-1970s to early 1980s (which she started at the ripe old age of 39 and performed with the likes of John Holmes, DesireƩ Cousteau and Ron Jeremy), she was, at different ...times, a massage therapist, a relationship counselor & a teacher. Her real name was Judith Carr.

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Juliet Anderson: Selected Filmography
Pretty Peaches (1978)
Inside DesireƩ Cousteau (1979)
Taboo (1980)
Aunt Peg (1980)
Talk Dirty to Me (1980)
Aunt Peg's Fullfilment (1981)
Fox Holes (1983)