My Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of All Time

There's a lot of these kinds of lists floating around the internet, so I thought it only natural to jump on the bandwagon. Usually compilers of these lists fall into 3 types: (a) white alternative types who think the Beastie Boys' "Pauls Boutique" album is the highpoint of the artform, (b) gangsta types who revere the violent and nihilistic above all else, (c) commercial cats who like the shiny, plastic and obvious. I'm none of those.

Who will agree with my selections? No one!

1. Nas - Illmatic (1995)
2. Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers (1993)
3. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1991)
4. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
5. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
6. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (1991)
7. Notorious BIG - Ready to Die (1994)
8. Kanye West - The College Dropout (2005)
9. The Roots - Do You Want More? (1994)
10. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (1992)

Great Ocean Road

Only managed to get one photo on this trip. Back row: Sammy, Marouza, me, Richard. Front row: Eranga, Ruth, Clara, CeCe.

Is it the lighting, or am I looking a bit pale in this photo? I must have been a bit unwell that day.

TGI Fry-days

Went to TGI Fridays (Chapel Street, South Yarra) for dinner last night. For a friend's birthday. Hmmm. Not one of my more edifying culinary experiences. I was reminded of that Simpsons episode where Mo opens up a family restaurant in which everything, including the glasses and cutlery, is deep-fried. A friend and I seemed to notice a correlation between the food on the menu and the large number of diners who were in the "dangerously obese" category.
To be honest, as a vegetarian I was definitely in the wrong place, so I shouldn't be expecting much better. And I'm told they do a steak pretty well. What did I eat? Suffice to say it was deep-fried.