Fiona Patten, outspoken member of the upper house in Victoria has changed the name of her Sex Party to the Reason Party.
One thing we know is that everybody wants to be reasonable, but no two people can agree on exactly what it is.
Her recent book, Sex, Drugs & The Electoral Roll chronicles her career from Canberra to sex worker to sex industry lobbyist to Sex Party to Reason Party (with photos).
But why didn’t Fiona get married under a fish tank to the B-52s Rock Lobster, isn’t that every girl’s dream?
As a lobbyist for the Eros Foundation, for over 20 years she learned a lot about the inner workings of politics. You get to meet a lot of people and see a lot of things in that job.
Since being elected, she has successfully instigated physician assisted dying laws, an inquiry into drug reform, and the introduction of a bill for both a medically supervised injecting centre and pill testing.
Fiona answers the big questions here as well, such as; “What happens if you sit on the “Queens Chair” in the Victorian parliament?”
AND when will you be able to buy a gram of cocaine from the chemist? (spoiler, not in time for Xmas)
Bunga Bunga 50, the highly anticipated and frankly overexcited 50th show calls to a world sick of reality and soundness of judgement. Tim Ferguson & Maynard remind you why and how Bunga Bunga has become the phenomenon it is today.
With help from their famous (and not so famous) friends and stooges, enjoy some quality time with the pre-eminent names in Bunga since 2013.
Bunga Bunga 50 could not make this milestone without President Obama & President Trump, CNN, William Shatner and even Sir Roger Moore logging on to congratulate us.
Tim explains where he’s been and where he’s going (everywhere), while Maynard let’s you know where he’s going for NYE (Kingsford).
Problems are solved in Crankmail (involving soup and hair), Australia is saved from The Great Depression by Tim’s extreme monetary intervention policies in Tim’s Historical Hypothetical, and disco clapping is compulsory during Tim’s Right of Reply (to a question nobody asked).
Bunga Bunga 48 sings to the world in a voice not unlike a cat locked out your house on a cold winter’s night. Listen to this show and you won’t get a good night’s sleep.
Tim Ferguson and Maynard truely, madly and creepily change the history of Australia’s national anthem while disrespecting several other national anthems in the process.
Of course your new national anthem doesn’t like us. But that’s just jealously talking.
Tim also breaks the news that the 2 hour documentary on The Doug Anthony All Stars will be screened on ABC TV this year in two filth ridden parts. Covering the entire career of the group, with video clips going back to 1984, when George Orwell was a DJ.
Patreon Pandering, every month, only for Planet Maynard Patreon supporters that no one else can hear. August brings more berets, much flattery, well wishes for a sick feline and even some underpants talk.
This show has so much sucking up in it, Tim & I can hardly breathe.
Join the Patreons and get the overblown flattery you so richly deserve.
You will enjoy individual targeted sucking up, as we thank you personally for being a Patreon of Planet Maynard & Bunga Bunga.
Bunga Bunga 47 proves you do get something for nothing. Tim Ferguson & Maynard have plenty of nothing and are happy to share it with you. Tim and Maynard save the Australian film industry, kidnap a member of the Royal family and Tim even has time to present TWO poems, one from his troublesome teenage years, and the other about the troubled motorcycle riding unemployed screenwriter of Glebe.
Maynard is excited about his upcoming gig in Perth on August 11th, Tim is excited about a potential gallery exhibition in Manly, also in August.
Tim & Maynard carefully and with forethought answer your Crankmail, fix the judicial system, change history, make a telephone call to the NSW Greens, take the piss out of our US listeners, them go out dancing.
If you want more than that from a podcast, frankly you are expecting too much and must have helicopter parents.
The Record Store in Goulburn Street, Darlinghurst is where you find Stephan Gyory (after 11am, “we keep civilised hours here”) surrounded by vinyl records of almost every genre (“but we don’t want your old Trance or Prog vinyl”)
He’s been in the vinyl record trade since he started at BPM Records in Oxford St (above the old Army disposal store) in 1994. At one stage, in the late 90s, there were fourteen dance music record stores in Darlinghurst. Sometimes at night in Darlinghurst it’s now difficult to find fourteen people.
But Stephan is optimistic about the future of the Oxford St precinct. “I run the local Chamber of Commerce. I’m currently on the City of Sydney late-night advisory panel, which is looking at how to diversify nightlife.”
But is the Oxford St too far gone?
“We lost the Flinders and it came back. We lost Q Bar, but that place was going to fall through its own floor anyway, we lost The Shift, and it’s just been bought by a group that are going to reopen as a club. This area and the community here is very resilient. The thing about Oxford Street is if you walk up it, Yeah, it’s a bit tatty, but if you walk across it, you don’t notice, because there’s lots of really cool things around it.”
So how about some advice to anybody thinking of opening a record store in 2018?
“Don’t go back in time and open a record store in 2003 because the following ten years will be terrible.”
So why do you still do it, with your not-so-silent-enough partner?
“Fucked if I know! Vinyl turned the corner probably five years ago and that was a function of music becoming a utility. When music went to streaming it just became like water and electricity. I think people seek to have relationships with music beyond pure consumption and the utility model is just a consumption model. But why am I in retail. I don’t know.I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But I am my own boss and I don’t have a mortgage, no kids, and it’s a very fun lifestyle.”
Stephan caters to most styles of music at The Record Store, but there is one type of person he won’t tolerate in his shop.
“We don’t serve audiophiles. I mean, they don’t come here because we’re a very pedestrian shop to the point where if someone comes to us with a collection of rare collectible vinyl, we’ll send them to another store. When I buy second-hand, I want to be able to sell it for not very much money. I want you to be able to come in and buy more than one album. I don’t want people coming in with magnifying glasses looking at the grooves because they’re a fucking pain in the ass. They might be very lovely people but I don’t have the time or patience. I think I’ve only ever had to kick three people out of this store in 20 years, and all three were like that.”
So you and your magnifying glass can tell your story walking.
But a final word on musical taste from Stephan.
“I used to be quite intolerant of music I wasn’t into. This music is better than that music and then recently some Liberace got through and into our rock and pop section. Ordinarily I would give that stuff to Vinnie’s. This young Chinese girl came in, a full vinyl junkie, she bought Barry Manilow, Liberace and Richard Clayderman, and I thought”, “you know what these records bring you joy, and you’re into this format as much as I am.” “Cool.”
