It's not cajun, it's burnt

OK, so I ripped that line straight from Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, but it doesn't lessen the impact of that pearl of wisdom - that there is a difference between a smoky charcoal flavour and carbon. Otherwise the food at last night's gala ball was good, helped by the fact that I am now becoming accustomed to the smaller portions dished out at these events.

Anyway, enough about the food. Board member and Jimmy Armstrong endorsed 2004 saviour of the club George Koukoulas decided that there was no better opportunity to rip out some killer dance moves, and good luck to him for doing so. Sure, there's the quote by Cicero that 'sane men do not dance', but Cicero was apparently also a terribly inconsistent and malleable piece of work; whose rhetoric and reputation was tarnished even in contemporary times for being prone to constantly changing his opinions to suit the prevailing political winds. Am I headed that way too? Perhaps.

Crown Casino, in its quest to have everyone become lost in its labyrinthine mess - and preferably in the gaming room part - doesn't seem to provide floor maps of its extensive facilities. I was able to find out that Studio 3 was where the old Heat nightclub used to be, but of course that means nothing to me. Whatever, I managed to find the place easily enough. Just another razzle dazzle function room with staff who struggle to hold their drinks even before patrons get to the trollied stage. As a person who generally abstains from drinking, it's no skin off my back. I'm more concerned about the staff member who took away a friend's main course from right under his nose, without asking him if he was finished, and even as said friend was still had a mouthful of food. Is this what we paid so much for?

Anyway, there the usual retrospectives of the season, Jimmy Armstrong talked about the club's London trip to receive our Oceania Club of the Century award, and there was also a recap of the Singapore adventure. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of two Sam Papasavas Awards, for outstanding service to the club, to Michael Dimoudis and George Kouroumalis. Both have worked tirelessly especially in the fields of media and promotions. The tv show, the youtube stuff, enhanced marketing, website renewal, radio, membership, databasing and so much more, all of these things would either not have happened or would have been in a far more parlous state had these two not given their extended time and efforts in these areas.

Should one be listening to Tasmanian black metal this early on a Sunday morning? Could be worse I guess - I could still be back in Studio 3, or at any of the after parties, listening to Apollo knows what kind of hellish music, unsuitable for moderately pretentious indie ears. Anyways, a good time was had, and congratulations to Michael and George on their achievements.