Author Archive
Friday, June 23rd, 2006
Kick It Long
There was an article in the newspaper the other day about the increasing corporatisation of football in Melbourne. The piece talked about how Melbourne footy clubs no longer have any real connection to their history; how the AFL’s relentless “rationalisation” policy means that all the Melbourne clubs now play out of the same ground. Carlton; […]
Read the rest of this entry »1 Comment » - Posted in Sport, Melbourne, Blog by Simon Sellars
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
Platform
As a travel writer, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have made my acquaintance with Michel Houellebecq’s nasty, but exhilarating novel, Platform, which I’ve just re-read. It really goes to town on travel guidebooks. It makes even the most seemingly innocuous travel-writing phrase a cringe-worthy exercise in self-loathing, like the term “a good base camp” […]
Read the rest of this entry »1 Comment » - Posted in Reviews, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Thursday, June 1st, 2006
About Sleepy Brain
This is the new incarnation — Phase IV — of Sleepy Brain, which has been offline for the past six months. It used to be more of a magazine, with regular contributors, but now is basically a blog run by Simon Sellars, a Melbourne writer and editor, as the magazine format was too difficult to […]
Read the rest of this entry »No Comments » - Posted in About Sleepy Brain, Blog by Simon Sellars
Monday, December 19th, 2005
Micro Blog 7: Let’s Talk About Yap, Maybe
Traditional Yapese art, Trader’s Ridge Hotel (photo: Simon Sellars).
Yap is the most traditional island in Micronesia. Some men still get around in loincloth; women often walk around topless. And everyone chews betel nut, a centuries-old tradition that is stronger than ever.
When my plane landed at Yap ‘airport’ (such as it is; the terminal is about […]
6 Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Monday, December 19th, 2005
Micro Blog 6: Koror By Numbers
Arakabesang island, Koror state, Palau (photo: Simon Sellars).
I haven’t updated this Micronesia blog for some time and there are a few reasons for that. Partly it’s because the business of being a guidebook writer can be so bloody exhausting at times. I was in Koror, in Palau, the other week, driving around in an unroadworthy […]
No Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Thursday, December 8th, 2005
Micro Blog 5: Little Tinian and Fat Simon
Atomic Bomb Pits, Tinian (photo: Simon Sellars).
Tinian is a somnambulant one-village island, about as lovely as Rota; I did it as a day-trip from Saipan – ferry there, plane back. As expected, Tinian’s beaches were superb and the history eye-wincingly poignant – it was captured by the US in 1944 and turned into the world’s […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
Micro Blog 4: Saipan Banzai Nipple Gun Barrel
At the end of a long, hot day contemplating war and the New World Order, sometimes all you need is one of these sticking out the end of a Singapore Sling (Sunset Bar and Grill, Pacific Gardenia, Saipan) (photo: Simon Sellars).
Saipan and has been and gone (I’m now in Yap), and because I fell for […]
6 Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Monday, November 28th, 2005
Micro Blog 3: Rota, God’s Creation
House in the hills, Rota (photo: Simon Sellars).
I’ve been in Saipan for the last few days, where I experienced my first downer of the trip. I feel violently ill thinking about it. But first I need to espouse the charms of the tiny, one-village island of Rota, between Guam and Saipan.
On Rota the people are […]
9 Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005
Micro Blog 2: Music Lives, And So Should You
Gun Beach, Tumon Bay (photo: Simon Sellars).
Hafa adai. I’ve been in Guam for five days. And get this: I attracted a tan by the close of the first day. I’ve even bought sunglasses and a sun hat, hitherto unnecessary items for a Melbourne boy like me. And I’ve received an education, perhaps not so surprising […]
13 Comments » - Posted in Micronesia, Micro Blog, Travel, Blog by Simon Sellars
Friday, November 18th, 2005
Micro Blog 1: He Wants to Break Free
I’m currently on the road updating the Micronesia portion of Lonely Planet’s South Pacific and Micronesia guidebook. To get to Guam, though, the first leg, I had to fly from Melbourne to Cairns. That was great, thanks to five heavyset Maori dudes on board, wearing gangsta gear and huge smiles. They were clearly out […]
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