Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Afternoon


Chinese woman playing a cello on a spike. She's sitting on two milk crates with her legs dangling, and she looks tiny.



Bananas $1.00

Friday, October 21, 2005

Afternoon


White guy with shaggy hair playing a varnished light-coloured didgeridoo.

Benji (thebeatboxer).

Folkie strummer with long blonde hair. "Hey there baby, don't say maybe, won't you try my home cooked recipe."

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Morning


Alto saxophonist. Beautifully amplified by the clear acoustics of the tunnel.



"Baby I Love Your Way" - DVD guy.



Bananas 80c

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Morning


"Losing My Religion" - the peroxided hair guy.

The sitar player with big glasses.


Afternoon


Hippie couple, both with long blonde hair. Him strumming, her singing Judy Collins-style.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Afternoon


"We're All Alone" - acoustic guitar duo, lead player amplified.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Morning


"Whiter Shade of Pale" - peroxided man, whistles the famous organ part. He sings in a kind of low-key Australian male rock voice, Steve Kilbey / Tim Freedman style.


Afternoon




Two regulars together - the human beatbox with the reggae guitarist. Very funky combination.

Electric jazz guitarist, mellow Wes Montgomery groove.



Bananas $1.00

Monday, October 10, 2005

Morning


Bananas 90c




Young white guy in a cap with a dope leaf on it playing a tango on the accordion.

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" - the blind woman with a remarkable, clear voice.


Afternoon


Japanese pair, one on bongos, the other on didgeridoo.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Afternoon


Human beatbox sitting on the tiles, emitting his usual funky beats. Schoolkid walking past starts rapping along, while his homies bust a few moves.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Morning




Bananas have hit the psychologically significant dollar mark. This could spell the end of the Howard government.

Could it be that the long predicted banana shortage is beginning to bite? The other day I found an article about this in a New Scientist lying around the Ponds Lunchroom (which, incidentally, used to be called the Breakout Room, until someone delicately raised the worrying skin care connotations).

Apparently banana yields in many parts of the world have been diminishing for decades, and it could disappear entirely within 10 years. The problem is that the edible banana plant is sterile – it's been propagated from cuttings since prehistory. The genetic uniformity that's resulted from a lack of sexual reproduction makes it highly vulnerable to pests and diseases. Fungal diseases have destroyed plantations in poor countries in Africa and South America, and are only controlled in the developed world by massive fungicide spraying. One fungus, Panama disease, isn't controllable by spraying and is rapidly spreading. Researchers are frantically hand-pollinating commercial varieties with wild fertile inedible bananas, trying to create new disease resistant varieties. The only successful hybrid they’ve created to date has hit market resistance for tasting more like an apple than a banana.

So maybe the crisis in the banana market is causing prices to skyrocket. On the other hand, I guess they could just be out of season.



Afternoon


"Holding Back the Years" - nylon string acoustic guitar, man in mid 30s with very neat beard.