"The Kramer"

   This post is about a t-shirt I have and 'one that got away'... The Karmer relates to a famous Seinfeld episode including the older couple at the art exhibit suggesting "he is a loathesome offensive brute, yet I can't look away." I love the Seinfeld series as it appeals to my dry sense of humour [Curb Your Enthusiasm likewise] and I am often laughing because of my theory that 'life is filled with Seinfeld moments'... the close talker, re-gifting, George's jobs, Elaine's relationships etc etc "not that there's anything wrong with that"...
   The shirt also reminds me of Kenny Kramer, the real Kramer who lived opp. Larry David in a Manhattan artists subsidised housing area and was the subject of many true Seinfeld story lines. When in NYC we went on his 'Reality Tour' parodied in Seinfeld with the 'Peterman Reality Tour' after Kramer had sold his story's for J Peterman's biography and objected to their loss in second thoughts!! I confess I don't own the second t-shirt as Kenny didn't have 2XLs when we went on the Tour... I bought a sticker for Vandelay Industries instead alongside my Snickers and a Coke...

'Fairy Dog'

   This t-shirt typifies my fav. t-shirt website because artists and designers can submit anything they choose and make 'no sweat shop' American Apparel shirts available world wide with a 10-12 day turnaround. For best results GIMP or Adobe help but in a former Publisher version I could get good picture results with transparent backgrounds and 300dpi and get a design or slogan produced privately or for public sale...
   In this case the hotdog frankfurt wrapped in fairybread appealed to my sense of humour and it causes lots of double take conversations with passersby. I guess I can share as they have hundreds of thousands of great designs up to XXXL on www.redbubble.com!!

'Earthquake Relief'

Check the video from NBN TV here

   On February 18th 1990 more than 42,000 punters rolled up to an outdoor picnic atmosphere benefit concert featuring some of Aussie rock music's finest in support of the Lord Mayors Earthquake Relief Fund... otherwise it might never have happened. This it the concert that set the benchmark for Wave Aid and Bushfire Relief that followed in recent years!!
   Out of the tragedy of the Newcastle Earthquake came this once off experience pulled together by Michael Chugg, Rock City's Peter Anderson and the Lord Mayor's Office. Aussie rock royalty loved being part of the day and felt it was 'the rock industry at it's best.'
   Part of a wonderful extended group of friends we picnicked on the oval with a collection of rugs and a fairly amenable crowd feeling until the usual 'hangers on' did start to encroach in search of the front of stage...
   The atmosphere that day was as unique as the circumstances. In today's crowd security arrangements you would not be allowed to build human towers more than 10m in the air or blanket trampoline the lightest member of your group [and certainly not a bikini clad girlfriend] while the whole crowd cheered you on... until they mysteriously didn't rebound at some point!!

The Bands included:
v Spy v Spy
The Party Boys + Ross Wilson + Mark Hunter
Johnny Diesel [aka Diesel aka Mark Lizzotte] + The Injectors with Jimmy Barnes
Noiseworks
Ian Moss
Crowded House
The Angels
Split Enz
and
Midnight Oil

Things I recall include:
- the emotional connection for Split Enz/Crowded House who were due to play the Workers Club the evening of the Quake and lost roadie John O Shanassy in the collapse
- The pre concert promo where the collected musos were asked "how do you decide the playing order for something like this and all presented simply agreed "well, the Oils go last, no argument there, and the rest of us just work it out from there..."
- Michael Chugg's now legendary MCing and crowd control profanities
- Crowded House having 'tech difficulties' with their keyboard and Neil Finn making a couple of mistakes and being teased mercilessly by the late Paul Hester as it was so often the other way around. He threatened Neil with a bucket of water that ended up being full of confetti!!
- An unforgettable set from the Angels including Doc Neeson climbing to the very top of the speaker stack/scaffolding tower, mic tucked into his pants, taking up the singing of 'Let the Night Roll On' waving a Newcastle Knights flag
- The way every artist committed to the day out of respect for Newcastle live audiences and the old Workers Club as a venue to play

   Thirteen people lost their lives at the Workers Club and various inner city houses, Beaumont St Hamilton shop awnings collapsed and many buildings were demolished or damaged. The plays and stories capture the same sense of gravity and purpose as this one day in February 1990. I and others still have the t-shirt to show we were there!!

'Superman'

   I'm old enough to be a fan of the George Reeves TV version of Superman, both from the b&w and colour TV eras yet I also have loved 'most' of the movies including 'Man of Steel' as the latest 'reboot.' I have this t-shirt from when Target's big bloke range went cool and included the occasional pop culture line...

   I wear it and use a similarly branded large coffee mug to remind me of who I am not!! None of us, is and especially not the variety that stands for truth, justice AND the American way... I loved that Superman in the latest film had issues with the US military use of 'drones' and that nobody is any black & white version of their own identity...

I have the dark blue t-shirt version from redbubble as well but this is my old standard that is mostly only worn around home or in winter with jeans [adding to the mystery that it's visible under a warm shirt!!

Apartheid and Sporting Bans Wallabies 1993 v South Africa

   In 1992 the Wallabies [and the All Blacks] travelled to South Africa to play matches against the post apartheid Springboks who then came out here in 1993!! Sporting bans played their part in keeping pressure on the South African government as evidenced by rugby and cricket 'rebel tours. South Africans had been quoted as saying that the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cup Champions were not genuine because they hadn't played the Springboks.
   You'll notice as evidenced on this t-shirt: the very 1990s Wallaby logo but also the addition of the Protea with a Springbok leaping over them. The Springbok was in many ways associated with apartheid and the government was keen to move on and create a game that all South Africans could get behind.
   History records the 1995 Rugby World Cup winners as the Springboks, with the tournament and team harnessing this effort to create the story of the 'Rainbow Nation.' The Wallabies were a team past their best at that tournament but who were also overwhelmed by the momentum behind Nelson Mandela and his team.

So, the lead up in 1993 the Springboks and Wallabies played a 3 game series here in Oz. Thanks wikipedia!!

21 August 1993	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	19 – 12	Australia	1993 Tour
14 August 1993	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane	28 – 20	Australia
31 July 1993	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	12 – 19	South Africa

   The rugby was tough and it was clear that the defending world champions and the new challengers were going to belt each other all winter. It was my first season as Captain Coach of Wanderers 4th Grade side and our team were Minor Premiers. As a rooky coach I wasn't happy with some of my decisions and my own contribution in the Finals series where our nervous inexperienced team were bundled out losing our semi and final to the damn Slime.
   This t-shirt was worn that summer as I began a fitness campaign to fix one of the things I had control over for next season. I trudged from my old fibro flat opp. Howzat Indoor Sports, down to Bar Beach, along to Merewether and back... eventually adding the walk up the hill and down into Cooks Hill then by the end of summer down Watt St, along Hunter and down Darby St back home.
   At a tumultuous time in my life I did become a little obsessed, with a diet of Coles self serve melon balls and chicken salad rolls, topped off by sometimes doing that walk during the day then again anytime after 10 at night.
   In part this did yield back to back 4th Grade Premierships v University in 1994/5 winning the GF in the last 30secs both years [after seasons as deserved Minor Premiers on the way]. In January 1995 I had a foot blow out walking in Adelaide from an inner city suburb to the CBD and back daily whilst at our UCA national youth event... That restricted my walking, followed by the beginnings of my patella tendonitis and I was never as fit again through the late 1990s and into being more  a team reserve or first half player as my rugby wound down to 2003's career ending injuries. I coached through to 2005 with some very successful teams winning a number of Premierships and filling all those years with many fond memories.
   I attended the second of those Sydney Football Stadium games in 1993 enjoying the Wallaby series win and setting up the rivalry that continued through 1995 and created the Tri Nations Rugby including the All Blacks in 1996!! 
The Springboks are my darkhorse team for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, though if the Wallabies can't win it I'll be cheering for France!!

POSTSCRIPT
I was driving up the hill heading to work this morning when the radio conversation about the future of the Holden motor car making in Australia was interrupted by the press conference announcing the death of Nelson Mandela... and tonight  I caught the last 30mins of the movie 'Invictus' which is about the harnessing of the 1995 Rugby World Cup by Mandela to unite the nation... new flag, new vigour, new idea of who they could be... let's face it they edged the All Blacks 15-12 in extra time to a Joel Stransky field goal and the country went wild in celebrations. RIP Nelson Mandela [Madiba] an amazing leader, someone offering forgiveness for 27 years in prison and uniting the country for a better post apartheid future... with problems but working to solve them together!!

'Late Show' with David Letterman

   The 'Late Show' with David Letterman had one of the first websites I visited regularly, not too long after such things existed on the internet. One of a few places to go and buy merchandise from your favourite American TV show, pastime or pop culture phenomenon, the world suddenly got smaller when I could order the t-shirt and cap from this late night TV cult classic!!
   Once Steve Visard's embarrassing copy was off air the Oz networks eventually picked up this quirky, awkward humour with the now familiar tonight show interview format and the coveted band spot to close the show.  
   Letterman had been 'Rolling Stone' Magazine cool and bands wanted to play, comedians to ply their trade and the movie & TV stars came to plug movies, but created humour, vulnerability and in some cases awkward silences.
   As Jay Leno grew the audience and grabbed some younger viewers for NBC the competition was well publicised. Leno [given that show instead of Dave when Johnny Carson retired] led to Dave's move to CBS and the Ed Sullivan Theater [US spelling] in New York [Broadway between W53rd and W54th St]. A renovated iconic TV location that still marks each significant anniversary of the night the Beatles first appeared live in stage etc etc... They drop watermelons off it's roof, ride bikes into swimming pools outside and stage NFL quarterback passing challenges through open taxi windows in a drive by.
   I read an article about Leno moving ahead in the ratings after a Hugh Grant appearance following his infamous encounter in a car with LA prostitute 'Divine Brown.' As Grant too his seat Leno simply asked "What the hell were you thinking!!!! ?" Ah...TV history...
   At first the 9 network had the show here, putting it to air anytime from midnight to 4am whenever they felt like it but then TV deals took it to TEN who are better, although it used to follow a hideous NZ soap for a while. At least it's no after the encore 'Project'!!
   In the US it's now Kimmel or Fallon and Letterman can be klunky, tired and not funny but some of his interviews still draw the absolute best from some otherwise superficial celebrities. He has a way of asking about embarrassing stuff that gets them talking e.g. Paris Hilton
   Recently Selina Gomez was on talking about a film and her music [post relationship with Justin Beiber]. Letterman brought up the fact they were no longer together and related a quip about ho the last time he was on the show Dave made him cry... Selina jumped right in and said "that makes two of us" [ouch]!! Dave kept referring back to that with a chuckle the rest of the show!!
  OK, but there we are, standing outside the Theater in spring 1998... reading the instructions for the standby audience. We queue on two days and go into a lottery with day two placing us 3rd and 4th in the standby line around the corner from the Theater. We can see the crowd at the stage door where the guests arrive and with 5 mins to spare at the 5.30pm taping the first 22 in the line are ushered in and we are studio audience for John McEnroe and Joan Jett [whose band close the show]!! I am in some kind of ecstatic parrallel universe in this tiny 12 or 13 row seated TV show studio watching Letterman live!!
   We later hit the merchandise corner store and top up my collection with this 'Late Show; t-shirt. Throw in the Kenny Kramer 'Seinfeld Reality Tour' on Sunday and you have one hell of a happy TV addict!!
   We went back the stage door of the Ed sullivan on other days to see the guests arrive by limo and spotted two curious figures in the huddled crowd. Could that possibly be a stunt with George Clooney and Anthony Green standing outside anonymously in the crowd. No, but the next night the two people appear on the actual show after the staff wondered the same thing and discovered that they both worked as professional 'look a likes' for the two actors, doing openings, weddings, parties, anything... impersonating the two!! Wow, only in New York!!

Australia v England Centenary Rugby Test

   In this Rugby Union Test Match the teams were still wearing the bulky jerseys [jerseys and caps are my other colectables!!] and the Wallabies wore a commemorative sky blue [which created great media around all the QLDers in the team who'd never be seen dead in a sky blue jersey. Worse still the kit sponsor at the time was Reebok who specialised in ill fitting sports clothes: big collars; sleeves too long; bigger sizes just meant longer.
   Aside from that embarrassment it was some great rugby they played on June 26th 1999 in the all important lead up to the Wallabies winning the World Cup later that year in the UK!!
   This t-shirt was my most loved at the time, good quality, it didn't lose shape and I wore it everywhere as my own playing career was winding dow due to bad knee and calf muscle injuries. It had a second life in 2008 when I lost lost of weight and cracked open that vacuum sealed bag filled with old favourites. I wore this to the UK that year and had lost of animated conversations with British rugby fans as we weren't doing as well by then having lost the 2003 and 2007 Webb Ellis Cups.

Silverchair [Innocent Criminals]

   'The Chair' are such a Newcastle story... a group of school mates form a band, exuding the musical influences of dad's record collection and passionate musical education. Called 'Innocent Criminals' they take on 'battle of the bands' and other opportunities and launch a huge album that takes them around the world several times. The world wide fame happens after one band member leaves for an OS Rotary Exchange for 12 months. Sons of a plumber, fruiterer & local laundry operator... 'Silverchair' left the 'Nirvana in pyjamas' tag in their wake and produced a couple of the most amazing rock albums I've heard. The band is currently hibernating!!
   Daniel Johns lyrics are not rocket science but his musical imagination is stunning. When he still lived locally I used to see him barefoot and walking his dog near the Prince of Wales Hotel at Merewether. This was prior to his degenerative arthritis like illness.
   It was my job to drop off the Wanderers 4th grade rugby jerseys weekly all winter to Chris Joannou's dads laundromat too!! I asked him about that when [having seen the band live the night before] we waited fro the same Launceston-Sydney flight home in January 1997. This led to an animated discussion about Wanderers Rugby and several of their mates I knew to be playing Juniors with the club. They seemed genuinely excited to have bumped into someone from Wanderers. I took the obligatory photo and attempted to keep my composure, nervous at having chatted with a bunch of 17 year old rock stars.
   I saw the band again at their secret Luna Park competition winners gig, then in Sydney, at Homebake and at Newc Ent Cent [barn] with 'The Offspring'... I wasn't able to get to the Civic Theatre double shows but the DVD of that gig is amazing!!

"Helvetica" Band name or ?

   I'm walking out of the local shopping centre and a passerby asks me "helvetica, can I ask you... what is that?'
I explain it's a font "you know... a style of lettering... on the computer!!" He says he plays in a local metal band and they've been looking for a new name, something like Metallica... "that'd be perfect!!"  I let him know you can buy it on http://www.redbubble.com and we part ways.... I actually think someone may have beaten him to it, but I haven't kept an eye on the local gig guide to check it out!!
   Not being a huge fan of metal I am quite fond of the truetype font that is 'helvetica'... it's old school, compact, good for some reports and a contrast to Tahoma in newsletters, no... seriously!! And let's face it [ha ha, see what I did there]!! it does get me into some interesting conversations... there are people all over NSW who think variously:
- it's a photocopier company
- a swedish car
- a type of exotic cheese
- a Greek soccer club
- and you guessed it, a heavy metal band!!

'Helvetica' a great font!!
 
 

'Pearl Jam' proudly from Seattle

   This recent purchase goes with my baseball cap from some ten years ago... the common link is that as a 'grunge' rock band their sense of humour sees Pearl Jam authorise a range of what they'd call 'bandwagon' merchandise.  
   The blue cap has the initials PJ on the front mirroring an era of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team [who play out of the so-called 'Safeco Field'] and this t-shirt features the iconic 'Space Needle' built in 1962. This Tower is front and centre for any Seattle based TV show [e.g. Frasier, Greys Anatomy] or tourism promotion. Beyond all this I have grown to have a deep appreciation for the music of Pearl Jam. It wasn't always so...
   To be fair when I first heard their music I found it to be just noise and assumed the young people I knew who liked it must have been smoking something when they listened [ I haven't changed that view]. It's the only way their early independent popularity made sense to me.
   All that, until I stopped and listened to 'Vitalogy' in December 1994. True, it was more accessible, but I could also relate to more of the subject matter. I began to read about the band and came to admire their campaign against Ticketmaster as they were restricted to less attractive venues in the US and offered relatively cheap affordable ticket prices in protest at the ticketing empire. Though the tour collapsed it was a significant stance that led to US Government action. Add to this their early refusal to make music videos or accept interviews. When 'Vitalogy' smashed the charts they still seemed uncomfortable with that kind of fame as much of the focus fell on lead singer Eddie Vedder.
   The next few albums seemed an attempt to change, to find new sounds and to maintain their edge [No Code and Binaural are classic examples].
   My final appreciation of the band is that theirs is a concert where you may choose to stand, gyrate and mosh... but you could equally sit and take it all in from the cheap seats and simply get lost in the sounds!!
   This I managed to do at Sydney's Ent Cent having passed up a previous opportunity to see the band outdoors!! I'm too old to do the 'Big Day Out' in Sydney next January [no really] so I still hold some small hope of a side show announcement, but time is running out!!
   Nonetheless 'Lightning Bolt' [the bands 10th album] is entertaining me on long drives! 'Mind Your Manners' is a worthy song and 'Sirens' an interesting choice for the highlights reels of the recently completed Major League Baseball 'World Series' best of seven between Boston and St Louis...
   As an aside Eddie Vedder's foray into the Ukelele is a great record itself... gotta love a muso who anonymously hits Aussie beaches to surf and disappear from time to time!!
 

U2 'When Love Comes to Town"

   Sticking to the U2 theme this t-shirt is a treasured item!! The 'Lovetown' Tour made two stops at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and the night I went will stay with me forever... It mirrored the 'Rattle & Hum' doco film in every detail and nuance with a standout set from BB King!! I don't care if U2 never play outdoors again... 'The Claw' is amazing and the outdoor screens and LEDs must be visible from space, but you can't manufacture intimate connections with music & lyrics as it did seem that "God walked through the room"!!
   I think for me it was a time of struggle in my life and the transcendent nature of U2's best tunes was a palpable experience. Remember, this is the first time you've heard 'Pride [In the Name of Love}','Where the Streets Have No Name' etc. Having been too 'something or other' to jump in and miss a day at work I passed on the opportunity to see U2's War tour concert at the same venue because I'd have to skip a day of work... idiot!!... so this was a long time coming...
   The way U2 reinvent, reinterpret and re-theologise their songs depending on the global and local situation means everytime I've heard their standards since has provided it's own meaning and also lots of memories of previous tours. It's what helped me make the links between Zoo and Popmart and also to find a depth of emotion in the bands tribute to the Pike River Miners linking 'One Tree Hill', 'Amazing Grace' and family members of Steve's in the audience that night!! New album finished by the end of November I guess!!
 
 

U2 Zooropa or was that Zoomerang?

   I think I was 40kgs lighter when I bought this absolutely favourite U2 t-shirt!! It was available from the Zoo TV Tour here in Oz which was another of those where the band get part way around the world and then break for 12-18 months before finishing the Asian leg through Japan and down under...
   ZOO TV was an amazing, huge and slightly disturbing vibe... a comment about media manipulation and it's impact on us as humanity. I loved the grainy Berlin inspired sounds [all made clear when I found my way to Zoo Station in 1998. We were at Moore Park the night the Lemon malfunctioned in the rain and the band had to be let out and brought to stage by a different route!!
   The middle set harking back to Rattle & Hum reminded of the way in which those songs connected with some painful and some shaping life experiences from years earlier and I was transported to those days, emotions and learnings in a 2 hour extravanga!! Some years later, the same was true of the PopMart show but it was marked by a much more hopeful outlook and style.

Rugby World Cup 1999

   The Wallabies 1999 vintage bounced back from a low ebb circa 1995 to claim the William Webb Ellis Cup [Bill]. The official version of events is that Webb Ellis at Rugby School in England picked up the ball and ran with it in a multi players per side game of football, thus creating the great running game Rugby Union!!
   The John Eales led Wallabies were a special team and gave many of us special pleasure at knowing the Wallabies had won TWO World Cups... I'll still say we were 4 or 5 degrees celsius and one turnover away from THREE but unlike the All Blacks we don't have to win ours 'at home'!!
   But seriously, it shows the + and - of a four year World Cup cycle that as teams have begun to plan their futures around it the All Blacks as undisputed best team in the world have let nerves and resolve get the better of them on a number of occasions!! First hand experience showed me the NZ home fans and crowd were anything but confident in 2011 at Eden Park where France did almost bring them unstuck... but to be honest I think home ground was the difference again!!
   This t-shirt was a piece of shameless cheap capitalising on the win BUT when I bought it I could actuallu wear it. These days it hangs on the wall amongst other memorabilia!!

Star Wars 'Episode IV'

   

   The original and best film was clunky, mind blowing and visually astounding!! You have to remember that we'd never seen the opening credits or story intro scroll upwards and into the screen 'wow'!! And then when the Space craft tip enters the screen and the underside just keeps getting bigger and bigger... But George Lucas is at least equal measure innovative creator and frustrating perfectionist. I get the idea of going back to redo things you had in mind that CGI couldn't yet do BUT I wish the stormtrooper hitting his helmet on a bulkhead stayed in!! #firstworldproblem I guess!!

   I'm pretty sure I bought this t-shirt in the US. The other marker for me with this film and t-shirt are that I saw the film from the mezzanine level of my Uncle Colin Hanks' 'Chelsea Theatre' in Melbourne St, East Maitland!! Memories!! 

   

US Open Tennis 1998 Men's Champion Pat Rafter

   New York is an amazing place... I've been fortunate enough to visit three times and still have plenty to do and see!! It's a great place for playing celebrity spotto, plunging into pop culture, capturing history or just watching the wide variety of people getting around Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens or Flushing!!
   That said, this t-shirt was ordered over the internet either the day of the Men's Final or just before!! The surface really suited Rafter's game and he went back to back there... I was acccidentally there in 2008 on my trip exploring new and/or experimental faith communities and took in The Women's Semis, Men's Doubles Final and a super sized basket of lattice fries with cheese sauce [a classic US menu item]. But in 38 degree heat I did only walk half way across the Brooklyn Bridge so I can cross it next time with family along again...
   This shirt reflects my love of sport, admiration for Rafter's style of serve and volley play but also a soft spot for New York City!! We visited an empty Flushing Meadow in 2000 in winter and me again in 2008, paying homage to the Champions Row statues and the name plates outside Arthur Ashe Stadium... graphite pencil rubbing next time...

My favourite things we/I have done there include:
- Times Square walking
- 'Late Show with David Letterman' standby and then audience
- 'The Lion King' on Broadway
- Yankees v Braves Baseball at Yankee Stadium
- Westside YMCA
- World Trade Centers [US spelling] in 1998
- Then 9/11 Memorial Museum and Walking Tour with Effected Family Guides 2008
- The Seinfeld Reality Tour with Kenny Kramer
- Bumping into Robin Williams
- Planet Hollywood
- Wall St Maccas
- Seeing a Movie with a noisy US crowd + real butter popcorn [though it wasn't Rochelle Rochelle]
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade including the Wiggles
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lights
- Barnes and Noble and Tower Records Lincoln Center
- Central Park
- Wollman Rink
- FAO Schwarz
- 'Transmission' Liturgical Faith Community and Grace Church Upper Westside/Chelsea
- Soup from the man who inspired Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi'
...

'Planet Hollywood' Las Vegas

   From standing in George St Sydney full up with the flu, watching the movie heavyweights arrive for the Opening Party... to LA, Paris and Times Square in New York... I loved enjoying a meal at 'Planet Hollywood.' In Planet Hollywood Paris we shared the space with a hundred very drunk Scottish Football fans during the opening night celebrations of the '98 World Cup and we paid over $60 AU each for our burger meals!! It made a nice change from baguette and slices of cheese or the savoury mince crepe at the local caravan near 'The Young & Happy' hostel!!
Kitsch but interesting, overpriced but unique!!
   I think the cult of celebrity is hilarious but the craft of film making is something to celebrate... and costumes, props and scripts make great pop culture artifacts!! No wonder I enjoyed the surprise of the movie costume exhibit at Fed Square in Melbourne recently!!
   I understand there's a whole Casino and Resort in Vegas now with the Planet Hollywood theme, back then it was part of the marble shopping mall in a Palazzo with a sky blue cloudy sky ceiling!!
 
 
 

"I'm Much More Interesting on the Internet"

   This is one of my newest purchases which came after finding the slogan on the net. It says everything I sometimes feel about Facebook, blogging and websites for resourcing, equipping others and sharing stories, views, rants and fun!! It gets lots of funny conversations out and about.

'Glory Glory to South Sydney'

   It's probably a fitting day to add this gem! I don't really relate to the 'Pride of the League' tag but this foundation club has the most Premierships at 20. It's just that the last of those was now 42 years ago. I inherited my following of the Rabbitohs from my cousins. I even had to wear a Balmain jersey so we had two sides in our backyard games. This was particularly so we could re-enact the 1969 debacle in our commentary. The year Balmain beat Souths but the story is they 'lay down' injured to slow the game and run the clock down!! Ask any old supporter!!
   These t-shirts were available as part of Rugby League's Centenary Celebrations. Although I've gone on to be more of a Rugby Union tragic in intervening years, the Finals always enliven my interest.
   Simms, Branigan, Sattler, Coote, McCarthy, Walters, Cleary, Longbottom, O'Neill and so many more... The side was broken up when Manly poached some of their international rep players in the 70s and it's never been the same... 1989 was heartbreaking as Minor Premiers then 'out' in straight Finals losses. Being removed from the competition and the fight to get back in has taken a long time to get over. This weekends loss to Manly will hurt and demonstrates that they need one or two more pieces to the puzzle and an ability for their halves to be not just precise when it's going well, but dominant when they meet other top sides.
   I have a 'soft spot' for the Newcastle Knights since their arrival here at a lean time for the Bunnies but there's no question who I'd have been cheering for in a Knights v Rabbitohs Grand Final!!
   I wrote to Russell Crowe a couple of years ago to express my thanks for his passion and our somewhat shared history of waiting for this team to re-emerge and how I understood that 'he got it' when it comes to Souths and isn't grandstanding... there's always next year!!

'The Sandman's Advice to the Unpopular'

I'm adding a few extras t-shirts at the beginning so there's enough good reading here to warrant an early visit!!
'The Sandman' aka Stephen Abbott was a great relatable character filled with fear, angst and uncertainty. He gives sage advice to those with questionable self esteem and trying to avoid being too awkward in social situations!!

My favourite stories include:
- 'Second Last is Best' about not drawing too much attention to yourself
- The one about tripping in a running race he usually loses and that familiar and more comfortable feeling of failure washing over him
- The one with the tag line that 'it's like driving from Brisbane to Sydney and stopping in Newcastle... you might as well push on to Sydney "I should know I come from Newcastle" writes, The Sandman!!

Match all that with Michael Bell's artwork and you have a winner!!

Mambo Faith/Theology and Reg Mombassa

   They killed their 'indi street cred' at the Sydney Olympics but Dare Jennings captured a moment with Mambo t-shirts and merchandise from their Paddington HQ and beyond. No trip to Sydney was complete without a walk past the Verona Cinema and into the Oxford St Mambo store to check out th latest offerings. This one is the 'Parable of the Pies and Beer.' I maybe have twenty Mambo t-shirts but this was a favourite!!

Midnight Oil 'Blue Sky Mining'

   T-shirts have always been my favourite thing to wear whenever I can choose. This one was purchased Newcastle's 'Rock Shop' and signed for me by Peter Garrett at the UCA Social Justice Expo at North Parramatta when he spoke from his role as an International Greenpeace Director. For this album 'The Oils' played two consecutive nights at Newcastle Workers Club. This shirt now sits in a frame with a drum stick. two LP vinyl album covers and a set of my most precious concert tickets.
   I had a black version of this shirt but it was stolen from my clothesline!!