Day #21,474

Hi Jennifer, this is the last of the Melbourne pictures as I'm leaving for Singapore tomorrow. I guess you're already saving up for airfare so you can get back here?

Walk km 2975-2986: to Port Phillips Bay then south along the beach to Langridge, over to Albert Park then back along Clarendon Street

walking path
aprox km 2977 just west of Turner Reserve Pathway


building
aprox km 2981 Beaconsfield street (across from the beach)


treelined street
aprox km 2983 Richardson Street

Song Of The Day: Sparkling Brown Eyes
The best song about eye colour? Well, there's Van Morrison and "Brown Eyed Girl" and Willie Nelson with "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" but Webb Pierce with the Wilburn Brothers doing "Sparkling Brown Eyes" would be my pick. And you have to be careful out there: there is another version by Webb Pierce that it not nearly as good. I believe the difference is that the vocal stylings of the Wilburn Brothers are on the version heard here. The Wilburnless version is to be avoided.
I don't have another version but Roy Acuff's "Answer to Sparkling Brown Eyes" comes close except that he changes eye colour to blue for his "answer".
This song goes out to Suna who can sing a mighty fine "Beautiful Beautiful Blue Eyes".

Day #21,473

Walk km 2967-2975: to Port Phillip Bay and return

lighthouse
aprox km 2972 Beacon Vista


quiet Sunday afternoon
aprox km 2973 Clark St


old Mercedes
aprox km 2973 Clark St

Song Of The Day: Nowhere Man
The Hahn Dae-Soo version is from his "Best Of Hahn Dae-Soo" CD which I bought when I was in Korea. The Low version is from the Rubber Soul tribute CD by "various artists".


Movie #1093: La Bamba(1987,Luis Valdez)

Not that great. A lot of scenes come off as awkward and all that plane crash imagery during the movie is too heavy handed. I liked the music though.

Day #21,472

Walk km 2963-2967: downtown to shop and snap a few pictures

a couple of trains
aprox km 2865 Southern Cross Station


fish sculpture
aprox km 2865 north side of Yarra, across from the convention centre

Day #21,471

Walk km 2955-2963: through Docklands to some amusement park then back via Spencer Street

Hotel Spencer
aprox km 2960 Spencer Street

Song Of The Day: I've Been Everywhere
I don't have many songs on my laptop so I haven't been putting up any "songs of the day" while on the road. But, I still have eMusic. And since I'm currently downunder, here's everyone's favourite Aussie tune: "I've Been Everywhere" sung by both some Aussies (the LeGarde Twins) and a Canuck (Mike Ford).


Movie #1092: Invasion USA (Afred E Green,1952)

I've had some luck with "red scare" movies before but this one has to be on the short list for worst movie ever made. The main reason is that they only shot half a movie: stock footage of WWII makes up about half the time of the movie. This stock footage is supposed to show the Russian invasion of the USA. The other half is strictly amateur hour. It may be just a tad better than "Plan 9 From Outer Space" but that stock footage reduced it to sub Ed Wood standards. Then there is the "red scare" tactics about how the USA should invest all of it's money into building a giant military to beat those commies at their own game. Amazingly, once the invasion from Russia is underway, everyone in the cast keeps asking for the radio or tv to be turned off: for some reason, an invading army dropping A-bombs on America's cities doesn't seem to interest them! There are a bunch of unintentional laughs plus the sequence where the guy from Arizona picks up his family along the roadside only to have them all drown because Boulder Dam has been bombed is right up there on a par with the best (worst) of Ed Wood. And this was directed by Alfred E Green who used to be a contender. He had directed some of Hollywood's brightest stars back in the 30s but obviously by 1952 he was reduced to trying to eek out a living on skid row. So, there are some interesting moments here but none that the makers of this movie intended.

Book #260: The Brass Verdict (2008, Michael Connelly)

I haven't read too many Connelly's lately because a) I always forget which ones I've read and b) "Chasing The Dime" was such a clunker. This one may not be one of his best but it kept me turning the pages at a decent rate.

Day #21,470

Walk 2949-2952: downtown shopping
Walk 2952-2955: went to take pictures but battery died after one picture

pathway over the Yarra River
aprox km 2954 near Melbourne Convention Centre

Movie #1091: The Choppers(1961, Leigh Jason)

This one just doesn't have that jaw-dropping goofyness of the other Arch Hall Sr/Jr efforts. The problem could be their choice of Leigh Jason as a director. Jason has a list of credits as director dating back to 1928. Too professional no doubt. Also, this is Junior's first acting role and he hasn't quite got that look (that he displayed in "The Sadist") or the hair-do (that he displayed in "Eeegah!").
This one was purchased at a discount store in Melbourne Australia. It's good to know that the Arch Hall oeuvre has made its way downunder.