This year, Friedel and I hosted her family’s Christmas lunch at our home. ‘Twas a very German Christmas, with her parents bringing most of the food up with them from Tasmania. The sauerbraten was amazing, to be sure.

Walter gives me his best hardman look, but wearing Oey’s tiny glasses, it was a tough one to pull off.

Not so hard.

Pia’s boyfriend Oey proves his feelings by making out with her dackel, Jeronimo.

The first drops of Christmas rain come in…

So, yeah. We had a few cameras on hand.

As the youngest, Pia was the first to receive her gift.

…which annoyed Jeronimo a bit, as he’s the youngest overall. The family dog, Sienna, sent him a tin of treats up from Tasmania.

Friedel’s gift from her Secret Santa, her grandfather Heinz.

Pretty good haul for me, I have to say. Some rad Vanishing Elephant socks, and a pair of Ray•Bans.

Of course, it’s now Boxing Day and it’s still pouring with rain, so I’ve got no reason to wear my new shades. Curse you, Melbourne.

Not too big a mess…

Then we all headed back outside for more drinks and laughs.

Friedel, meine Liebe.

Damn paparazzi…

Oey figures out how to use his camera.

Here comes the rain, right on time.

Friedel’s father, Walter, aka “The Lord”.

Did I say rain? Better make that hail.

Even The Lord is wise enough to wear a helmet when braving the Melbourne weather.

My helmet took a beating…

Frosty.

Dinner. Oh lawdy lawdy lawd, this was an incredible meal. Friedel’s mum Christiane can really cook.

Jeronimo, all tuckered out.

A great Christmas and a great day with the family. Now it’s onto a birthday dinner tomorrow night, then a wedding the day after, and finally down to Tasmania for another wedding.

The Summer of endless commitments…

If you’re so inclined, you can also check out my photos from Christmas in Tasmania, last year.

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We now return to your regular scheduled programming.

Breaking tradition here a little by posting something that has nothing to do with me or my halfbaked photography, but I caught the trailer this morning for Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Alien prequel,” Prometheus, and I’ve since gone nuts with nerdy desire.

So here’s the trailer and a bunch of screengrabs, just to engage the parts of your mind that are too busy being shagged sideways by the video.

And for the hell of it, here’s the trailer for the original Alien film. I love that Scott’s used the same effect as the letters appear on the screen.

Above: the space jockey! Very keen to see what story Scott has given this mysterious fella.

Fair to say, I’m excited.

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Dicking around in Photoshop while processing some work photos.

It’s a hot day, I’m working on a super secret ultra secret (also, it’s secret) project. Why not enjoy a few bevs? Agreed.

It’s been a long time between updates, but here’s a selection of shots from last night’s screening of the classic American Graffiti at the Coburg Drive-in.

The film was screened as part of an event organised by the Melbourne-based Fuel Magazine, and in that scenario, you know exactly what to expect: hot rods, classic muscle cars, and plenty of them.

But first, here’s the trailer for the film:

Now, onto the photos.

For me, the real highlight of hot rods is not the overall package, but rather the little touches, the small garnishes and chrome decorations. Read on.

Check out all of the full-size photos here on my flickr page.

One of my friends, Dan, loves to tinker with cars. A lot of my friends do, actually, but Dan always has something on the go. He generally sticks to Mazdas, but he’s also got a fantastic Volkswagen Beetle that he’s kitted out in true ‘ratrod’ spec, and we all love it.

His birthday was earlier this month – the day after mine, in fact – and we thought it would be great to buy some junker off the ‘net, deliver it to his house, and enjoy his reaction.

Tony had come across this unloved first-generation 1977 Honda Civic five-door for $200, and we decided it was the perfect choice; it was no Mazda, but it was old – ideal for Dan – and it was cheap – ideal for us.

More photos through the link.

The day began simple enough, with Joel dropping his $1.80 packet of donuts on the ground before any of us had even had a bite. Top work.

Joel and I arrived first, and within 10 minutes, the rest of the guys – and Tony, with Dan’s new Civic – had arrived.

And here she is: 1200cc engine, two-speed Hondamatic transmission, black-taped speed stripes, a tank of premium and brand-new door cards.

Glorious.

I’m told that PBS radio station sticker was placed there to cover the holes left after someone stole the badge that was there. Now we’re concerned that if we remove the sticker, the car might collapse in a heap.

Lichen adds character.

The temptation to paint the horn buttons red and write ‘NOS’ on them was difficult to overcome, but we managed.

Star gives a speed boost and allows you to drive through other motorists, flipping them on their head and causing them to lose all their coins.

Those brand-new door cards I mentioned? Still wrapped in plastic. Getting visions of my grandfather’s couch…

Ryan applied a racing number to the roof. I asked about the relevance of the number 4: “well it’s got no round bits. Easy to tape…”

Above: the highlight of the day begins as Tony rolls up to the home of Dan, who suspects nothing.

And now; the video of the handover.

Above: Here’s the brilliant bit; Dan and this little Honda both rolled off the assembly line in the same month, of the same year.

It’s all smiles on the outside, but you just know that on the inside, there’s only “Oh, god.” But don’t worry mate, we even got you a repair manual.

For the wrong engine…

But wait, what’s this? The first modification, and all within 30 minutes of taking ownership!

Dan had found some roofracks on the side of the road a few weeks earlier, and he figured he’d see if they’d fit the Civic.

Perfect.

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I paid my first visit to Melbourne’s new gamin’ and drinkin’ venue, Mana Bar, with some friends a few weeks ago. Afterwards, we popped down to The Alchemist for a slightly classier cap to the evening.

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The City of Melbourne put on a “Yell for Cadel” welcome back event at Federation Square yesterday, to celebrate the champion cyclist’s Tour de France win.

They say there was around 150,000 proud Melburnians in attendance – a record for the venue. That said, most of us were crowded in the incredibly packed St Kilda Road and Flinders Street.

Sadly, I arrived late and couldn’t get close enough to snap a shot of Cadel as he cycled slowly along and shook hands with the crowd.

But hey, here’s some photos of an excited and lively Melbourne.

Hopefully he wins it again next year – so I can make a better effort to shake his hand!

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Had some friends over for lunch, yesterday. It turns out I was more interested in photographing the progress of our ‘Bacon Explosion’ concoction than the people surrounding it.

I did manage to snap some shots of our spontaneous visit to the Albert Park Driving Range in Melbourne, though. You can see those, and more horrifying greasiness, after the jump.

The preparation.

Oh gawd, this is going to be good.

Ready for the oven. Now we wait…

Below; an hour, eight slices of tasty cheese and a punnet of tomato and garlic pasta sauce later, the Explosion was ready to demolish our insides.

I couldn’t get through my second helping, but be assured it was delicious. I suspect I won’t be eating meat for another six months, though.

After a round of virtual golf on my Android tab, we decided to hit the driving range. I’d never been, and I had no idea how quickly I’d get bored of the 100 balls I paid for. I gave up about 30 balls into it, and started snapping shots of everyone else, instead!

And that’s that.

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