Man, driving across Australia with your friends is so nice. I'm learning about Ned Kelly, former Prime Ministers, doing great shows and meeting lovely people. I also can't wait to get home to Melbourne though, and I promise both you, and myself, that apart from a 4-day trip to Cairns I have planned, I won't do any more travelling until the end of July. I promise!!!

Last night I saw one of the best, if not the best show I've ever seen. I couldn't speak afterwards, and I had to leave quickly to go and be alone with my feelings. The next three months I'm going to be working on the branding for the new show, as well as researching as much as I can about Chopin so that by the time I get to Edinburgh I'm prepared to take the thing from what it is now to being almost the finished product. Seeing this show last night was so inspiring and I can't wait to see it again at the last performance on Wednesday!

I gave myself food poisoning last night. God that is a humbling thing to say. It's fair to say - and I say this with full appreciation of the irony of the word I'm about to use to describe the situation - that I well and truly cooked it last week. I only just now feel like I'm back in my own body. Sorry for the last pod this week! Stay safe xx

I had the most inspiring and inspired weekend!! I went to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival on Saturday afternoon, partied Saturday night with friends, went on tour as a trainee on Sunday with a new analogue camera and took some photos and learnt the beginnings of a new skill, and then had a wonderful, relaxing night in my hotel room in Warrnambool!! And then the shit hit the fan on Monday and I've been reeling ever since. GAH!!!

After my piano lesson this evening I took myself for a lovely dinner on Lygon St and wrote a bit of stand up. I told the stories here - stories about the woman who Chopin dedicated his first set of Nocturnes to, and her various sexual/romantic adventures. A young man spending a week in a horse-drawn cart with a dress and two loaded guns, and another famous pianist ruining someone else's marriage. They're great stories! History is super cool, man.   If you haven't seen that Bernie Mac set, do yourself a favour: https://youtu.be/UaXVt1QTwRU?si=KcnyOdq5zdM4mkOG

I got hit in the face by a bed frame at work today and it HURT!! I wanted to cry, but I didn't cry. Isn't it funny how girls cry when they get hurt? I've never thought about it before, but guys don't do we? We just get angry. I talked a bit about this on the podcast today, and about how I just gave a lecture on stand up comedy at Melbourne University HOW ABOUT THAT!!

Dude, I swear every time I go to the Gold Coast I come back way darker! I legit remember it happened the first time I ever went there in 2013, there's a picture of me somewhere at the end of that trip in a nightclub or something, and I'm super dark. I remember being really proud of it at the time, I thought I looked so cool. And you know what? I was right. I did.

Honestly, I was way too excited to record the podcast this week. I actually had something to talk about - the incredible book 'Good Material' by Dolly Alderton which I ABSOLUTELY LOVED!! I was sure I was going to be able to talk coherently about it for ages, and then when I turned the mic on I started rambling, and I'm not sure how well I spoke about it at all. That's the beauty of this, and for that matter every podcast though isn't it - they are all SHIT!!

Not you, I'm talking to the person behind you. Hahaha nah only joking, it's YOU that I like :) I'm tired as hell man, and I have to get up for a flight in like 4hrs or some shit whatever boo-hoo-hoo wah-wah baby cry-cry. Shut up. What a great podcast this is.

I did two gigs tonight, the first was bad in a very bad and frustrating way, and then the second was bad, but in a much more satisfying and productive way. Both of them were bad though, because it was hot today, and I spent the whole day distractedly trying to sell tickets to my show in Brisbane next week, which are of course being very stubborn in not selling, but rather staying right where they are. Ah well, at least I get to go to sleep in a second.

It was my birthday yesterday! I had a lovely day driving the bus down the Great Ocean Road, even had a lovely stranger gift me some sunglasses! It's a much funnier story than that actually, but you'll have to listen to the podcast to hear it, because that's what this is, it's a teaser! It's supposed to tease you, so that you listen to the podcast. You're stupid! See? Teasing! Now listen up, dumb-dumb!

I've been re-reading Stewart Lee's 'How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian' this week and absolutely loving it. I read it ten years ago when I first started stand-up, and reading it again with fresh eyes gives me a new appreciation for where he was at in his life and the artistic choices he made. Stewart Lee rules. You wanna know who doesn't rule? Well you'll have to listen to this 40-minute podcast if you wanna find out! ;)

I've had a wonderful few days over the weekend relaxing, playing piano, seeing friends and even doing a bit of stand up (if you can believe it!) but as I stand now on the precipice of 5 long days of work, I feel as insecure as ever. When does it end? But I guess without these moments to propel us forwards, life would be one never-ending moment of ecstatic boredom. You need a bit of grit in there for texture!

I've had an absolute dog of a week this week, which I've been told are the best episodes, so enjoy this one you rat cunts, because I am absolutely off it.

So Grumpy! Surly even... I just had a not ideal gig on my friend's show in Sydney, I was distracted because I thought my piano was broken. It's not... anyway who cares, on Sunday I went to a swap meet and found a cassette of stand up comedy from a comedian based in Geelong that was released in 1983!! Incredible stuff. I bet you can't guess what kind of jokes were on there hehehe   Here's the clip from that docco with DJ Shadow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gpKYnRdf0A

Today while driving the tour bus I put on 'Love Yourself' by Justin Bieber and it really perked me up! I remember Hunter S Thompson describing music not as this sacred thing people always insist that it is, but simply as 'fuel', and today when that song got me through a tired patch, I really understood what he meant. I think I finally get it!

I woke up at 5:30am on Christmas Eve and drove down to Torquay to go for a surf on the new board my friend gave me. I didn't stand up once, but that's not the important bit. Then I went for a walk up Hanging Rock before heading to Bendigo where I spent Christmas with my cousin and his family. On Friday night some dork after the show at Republic came up to me and recommended I listen to the music of Ludovico Einaudi calling him 'The Modern-Day Mozart'. I did, and I thought it was shit. That's the highlights from the pod, and indeed my life, for the last week of the year, 2023. YouTube Video about Ludovico Einaudi's Music: https://youtu.be/v_sQ_fb_M1Q?si=t8a7Uzy092LoA7wh

I'm at my Dad's new house in Ardrossan, I've been awake in bed since around 2am thinking about heaps of stuff, so I thought rather than just sit here stewing, I'd set my mic up and record the podcast. Glad I did, this was the best one in a while I reckon.

I'm at my Mum's place in Adelaide after travelling from Melbourne to Perth to Adelaide to Cairns and back to Adelaide since Friday. I'm tired, but I escaped the hurricane, and by the slimmest of mercies, will not have to learn the rules to Monopoly Deal while stuck in Far North Queensland with no power this week. Big result for me, actually.

I found a t-shirt at an op shop near my place yesterday with 'Keltic Falcon Rope Access Experts' on the back, and a sick logo on the front. Aside from dealing with difficult moments in friendship and romance, and slowly figuring out the opening 12-15 minutes of my new show, the podcast this week is mainly about the shirt. Big up the Keltic Falcon!! Squarrrrrrr