Bullet time

* Today: Blew $10 on Princess Coup in the nation-stopping Melbourne Cup horse race. The nag finished in Xth place, where X isn't 1, 2 or 3.

* Yesterday: Reported for my dentist's appointment right on time...a week early. Doh! Lunching at a new Thai place I'd been recommended, was served a meal that seemed like what I'd ordered (it had the same three varieties of dead animal flesh) but was actually two lesser dishes costing nearly double. Doh! The Colts led the Patriots for three quarters in the clash of the undefeated NFL teams, only to be overrun in the fourth. Doh!

* The day before: At the Australian Centre for Photography with PG and DG for a panel on publishing, we slew time viewing a retrospective of the work of Aussie snapper Matthew Sleeth and also the Walkley Awards pics. The latter included a shot of Merewether (a suburb of my home burg of Newcastle) during June's torrential rains. It was a d*rk and st*rmy n*ght, the streets were flooded and a hero of a bloke was rescuing trapped motorists from their cars using a jetski with a boogie board strapped to the back.

* Three days ago: Hiked from North Bondi to Randwick with PG and DG. Why? 'Cos along the cliffs and in the parks between the south end of Bondi and Tamarama, the annual Sculpture By The Sea shenanigans were happening. Most deserving of description was a two-part creation involving giant mechanical ants. Halfway down a grassy slope, we met one carrying a sheet of maroon metal. At the top, two of its nestmates were dismantling a maroon Mercedes-Benz that was missing the cover off its boot (trunk, for the Yanks reading).

* The night before that: Saw a pedestrian get hit by a Toyota Celica in Haymarket (on my way to the Kings/Crocs game). Well, I heard the bang and a fellow bystander's scream. The dude was OK. Stunned for a few seconds. More embarrassed than anything. The woman driving jumped out to check on him, but he shrugged off her attentions and limped-ran away down the footpath clutching a golf umbrella!


Watching: The latest round of TV's "Poker Millions" (refreshingly literate colour commentary from the now extra-attractive Vicky Coren).

Trivia: Japanese gurgitator Takeru Kobayashi no-showed the recent World Hamburger Eating Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, due to a sore jaw. Regardless, his record of 97 burgers was rewritten by ravenous American Joey Chestnut, who managed 103 - a feat that was likened by an over-excited spokesclown to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile.

Lovin': "The King Of Kong", pastizzi at The Maltese Cafe in Darlinghurst, "Sticker Nation: The Big Book Of Subversive Stickers Volume 1".