Yurt is a funny word.

Hello, hello dear friends and readers! It's been too long, I know, but the latest news from Sydney just keeps piling up, quicker than I can write it! Therefore, some of the latest news has actually been sitting around for a little while, so it's not very fresh anymore...well honestly, it's starting to look a little wizened. You might want to smell it first.

Hmm. Sorry about that. Anyway, last weekend Craig and I went to an "Aboriginal Control over Aboriginal Affairs" rally in Redfern Park, an area of town called "The Block" that people are generally told never ever to go near, but with a big rally going on, we figured it was safe. Turns out it was more than safe. Just like in the States, rallies for coloured people's rights are best attended by white people...mostly white people who have committed themselves to some sort of socialist cause.






















Some, of course, are more white than others. Check it.






















Avoiding newspapers from the Militant, the Spartacists, the Socialist Alliance, the Green Left, Resistance.org, and Direct Action reminded me of home in the worst ways and listening to a bunch of white politicians talk about what Aboriginal people want put me in a nasty mood. Turns out the left wing looks and acts the same, even upside down. Luckily I could distract myself with Redfern Park's beautiful public art, which is inspired by Aboriginal patterns and tradition.






















The biggest benefit of the rally was that we ran into a friend of ours there. We first met Phoebe through my co-worker Dave Harris (the other goofy Dave at Alfalfa). Dave and Phoebe held a little welcome party at their house during my first few weeks at the Alf, and we get along wonderfully with them. They know absolutely everyone, so they've also been really helpful. Phoebe even invited us to a party that night at a new underground venue in Marrickville, an industrial neighbourhood of Sydney. Dave was DJing at the party. He's made it clear that he feels it has been a complete effing oversight that I haven't put him on the blog yet. Duly noted. He's got a lustrous mustache and a penchant for wearing very short shorts–so hipster! This particular evening, he was wearing pink denim flares with a matching pink shirt. Outstanding.






















Phoebe is beautiful and charming; I'm only sad because we've barely just met them, and they're already planning to leave Sydney in two months. They're building a freaking yurt and going off to live as nomads. They are such awesome weirdos.