Its been a while since I last relayed details of my life and outings on this side of the world. I can partially attribute it to being inordinately busy, but it comes down to having nothing to say. Although, for my own personal records a catchup is hereby provided.
I went to Poole and Bournemouth - england's idea of a beach. It was nice. Im sure the abysmal weather didn’t help it either. Nothing on Perth. Spent the whole weekend laughing with 2 australians, an irishman and an englishman. ate a lot of fudge.
I went to an outdoor concert - Diana Krall. I got absolutely saturated, couldn’t see anything because of all the umbrellas and left early. I then got very sick for the following weekend.
I went to Somerset. Very impressed. So green and vast and "english". Drank some apple cider, went to cheddar, went out in Taunton, meandered around wells, feared I would get attacked by wild horses…
Croatia involved sailing, drinking, swimming. The water in the adriatic sea is a lot saltier and therefore a lot denser than off the West coast of australia. It didn’t take much effort at all to stay afloat. It was also mentally relaxing to not have this tiny fear in the back of your head of being attacked by a shark. Apparently they don’t have sharks there. Dubrovnik was the highlight with the massive wall. Although about an hour in the sun got too much and the wall, despite being historically enriching and offering picturesque views, got a bit samey. Getting off half way through was a debacle.
I love germany. Particularly the food. Even more so the ambiance in a tent at Oktoberfest. eins, zwei, drei - g'suffa!
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
a sojourn in sweden
Relatively speaking Perth is pretty close to the equator and, because of the shape of the earth, and the axis of rotation this means that the length of days and nights does not vary totally dramatically from summer to winter. Thus the concept of daylight saving is introduced to extend the sunlight into the night in the summer, emulating countries further from the equator. I had never given this much thought until spending "midsummer" - longest day of the year - in Stockholm, which is far enough from the centre of the earth to see only a few hours of darkness in summer before the sun busts out again, making the most of its time until winter when it more or less hides. It must be miserable and depressing to not see the sun for half a year and ultimately I think I prefer the less dynamic seasons of Perth.
Stockholm was light until about midnight. It was disconcerting and wonderful. The weather was temperamental changing from giving me sunburn to pissing down with rain in a matter of minutes. The city is beautiful, colourful and charismatic - not unlike the people who I would say (a fair generalisation) have the most attractive women in the world. I wont harp on about this except for to say that I was glad to leave for the fact that I no longer felt alarmingly unattractive.
The sales tax in Scandinavia is outrageous and alcohol was inordinately expensive - at least twice the price on average of that in Britain.
The Social Democratic governments in Sweden borrowed many ideas from socialism. The Swedish prosperity has been distributed among the population to a greater degree than perhaps any other country. In principle I have always disagreed with this "give everyone a go" welfare state, believing that no one should have to provide for anyone else and that everyone should work hard and fend for themselves. I recognise that this is idealistic and probably unattainable as lack of welfare leads to crime and to borrow a simple idea from my favourite musical Les Miserables "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer". In Stockholm everyone uses bicycles as transport and leaves them laying all over the place, unchained and with various belongings attached. We hired bikes and did the same, something that made me very nervous at first but is commonplace simply because there are no nefarious people. This may be a sheltered perception but compared to anywhere else I have been in my life it seemed the most friendly, and honest city. So it was an experience that made me think about the best ways to run a country and distribute wealth. I don’t necessarily agree with it, I don’t think lazy bums should be spoon fed through life, but some of the merits are blatant and strong.
A lot of the younger people in Stockholm are very "art wanky". Alternate weird clothes and hairstyles and shoes were commonplace. They kind of pull it off though.
They eat plates of bacon or meatballs for dinner (amongst other things, especially raw fish) and have the most delectable bread I have ever tasted.
I couldn’t live in Sweden - I feel too ugly and would have to pay too much tax - but it is a beautiful, relaxed and friendly place to frolic.
Stockholm was light until about midnight. It was disconcerting and wonderful. The weather was temperamental changing from giving me sunburn to pissing down with rain in a matter of minutes. The city is beautiful, colourful and charismatic - not unlike the people who I would say (a fair generalisation) have the most attractive women in the world. I wont harp on about this except for to say that I was glad to leave for the fact that I no longer felt alarmingly unattractive.
The sales tax in Scandinavia is outrageous and alcohol was inordinately expensive - at least twice the price on average of that in Britain.
The Social Democratic governments in Sweden borrowed many ideas from socialism. The Swedish prosperity has been distributed among the population to a greater degree than perhaps any other country. In principle I have always disagreed with this "give everyone a go" welfare state, believing that no one should have to provide for anyone else and that everyone should work hard and fend for themselves. I recognise that this is idealistic and probably unattainable as lack of welfare leads to crime and to borrow a simple idea from my favourite musical Les Miserables "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer". In Stockholm everyone uses bicycles as transport and leaves them laying all over the place, unchained and with various belongings attached. We hired bikes and did the same, something that made me very nervous at first but is commonplace simply because there are no nefarious people. This may be a sheltered perception but compared to anywhere else I have been in my life it seemed the most friendly, and honest city. So it was an experience that made me think about the best ways to run a country and distribute wealth. I don’t necessarily agree with it, I don’t think lazy bums should be spoon fed through life, but some of the merits are blatant and strong.
A lot of the younger people in Stockholm are very "art wanky". Alternate weird clothes and hairstyles and shoes were commonplace. They kind of pull it off though.
They eat plates of bacon or meatballs for dinner (amongst other things, especially raw fish) and have the most delectable bread I have ever tasted.
I couldn’t live in Sweden - I feel too ugly and would have to pay too much tax - but it is a beautiful, relaxed and friendly place to frolic.
Monday, 16 June 2008
A blog from My Father
My dad doesn’t have a BLOG. So this latest email from him that had me in fits of laughter I am putting here, for general viewer enjoyment. I was cc'd in an email to his friend who is also an avid Nikon fan. Attached were about 10 photos of strangers with Nikon cameras, totally unaware that a fellow Nikon aficionado was stalking them
Hi Craig,
We had a great time os and i took a lot of photos.
I also had time to take time to look at a lot of other people taking photos. And what i have found is that there is no question about the fact that "Nikon Envy" (herein sometimes referred to as ne) whilst an unfortunate human trait, is prevelant amongst photographers everywhere!
I have seen it in Dubai and on the streets of London. I have seen it in crowded tube stations and in Hyde Park. I have seen it at the Chelsea Flower Show and in Piccadilly. In Paris I saw it in Montparnasse and by the Seine. I saw it at the Picasso museum and I saw it outside the Louvre. The museum D'Orsee was no different nor the Place de la concorde. Believe me "Nikon Envy" is rife, it's ugly and it's everywhere.
In fact i would suggest its a subset of a syndrome which i refer to as OCID (Other Camera Inferiority Disorder). This disorder may be suffered by any camera owner but in practise is rarely seen in a nikon owner. Commonly seen in pentax and sony owners, often seen in ricoh and fuji owners, sometimes seen in olympus owners, but rarely, very rarely seen in nikon owners. (and why would you! -when you've got the best, why would you ever feel inadequate).
To my mind "Nikon Envy" or ne is quite understandable. I mean how would you feel wandering around in public with a black strap with the letters P E N T A X emblazoned in red thereon for all and sundry to see -bloody embarrassed i would have thought. Which probably explains one such owner that i saw, after he had spotted my proud black and gold colours, sheepishly shifting his hands across the front of his pentax lens and stooping in the hope that the colours and the name on the strap would be hidden -poor soul.
He was not of course on his own. The black and white straps of the Olympus's were also challenged by the strident black and gold of the leader -and they too felt their inferiority. Furtive glances, embarrassed faces, sidelooking inquisitive stares, all these i saw from OCID sufferers.
Feeling for them i took no images of them. Far better i felt to photograph the winners than the losers. And this i did, everywhere i could. I have attached some of these images for you to peruse. Here you will see happy, well balanced photographers with their black and gold's. They are confident, they are inventive, they are outspoken, they are assertive, they are wise, they are composed, they are proud, and why? -because they know they have chosen the best bloody camera that money can buy!
Hi Craig,
We had a great time os and i took a lot of photos.
I also had time to take time to look at a lot of other people taking photos. And what i have found is that there is no question about the fact that "Nikon Envy" (herein sometimes referred to as ne) whilst an unfortunate human trait, is prevelant amongst photographers everywhere!
I have seen it in Dubai and on the streets of London. I have seen it in crowded tube stations and in Hyde Park. I have seen it at the Chelsea Flower Show and in Piccadilly. In Paris I saw it in Montparnasse and by the Seine. I saw it at the Picasso museum and I saw it outside the Louvre. The museum D'Orsee was no different nor the Place de la concorde. Believe me "Nikon Envy" is rife, it's ugly and it's everywhere.
In fact i would suggest its a subset of a syndrome which i refer to as OCID (Other Camera Inferiority Disorder). This disorder may be suffered by any camera owner but in practise is rarely seen in a nikon owner. Commonly seen in pentax and sony owners, often seen in ricoh and fuji owners, sometimes seen in olympus owners, but rarely, very rarely seen in nikon owners. (and why would you! -when you've got the best, why would you ever feel inadequate).
To my mind "Nikon Envy" or ne is quite understandable. I mean how would you feel wandering around in public with a black strap with the letters P E N T A X emblazoned in red thereon for all and sundry to see -bloody embarrassed i would have thought. Which probably explains one such owner that i saw, after he had spotted my proud black and gold colours, sheepishly shifting his hands across the front of his pentax lens and stooping in the hope that the colours and the name on the strap would be hidden -poor soul.
He was not of course on his own. The black and white straps of the Olympus's were also challenged by the strident black and gold of the leader -and they too felt their inferiority. Furtive glances, embarrassed faces, sidelooking inquisitive stares, all these i saw from OCID sufferers.
Feeling for them i took no images of them. Far better i felt to photograph the winners than the losers. And this i did, everywhere i could. I have attached some of these images for you to peruse. Here you will see happy, well balanced photographers with their black and gold's. They are confident, they are inventive, they are outspoken, they are assertive, they are wise, they are composed, they are proud, and why? -because they know they have chosen the best bloody camera that money can buy!
Gershwin Goodness
Possibly my favourite thing about London is the endless array of entertainment at my fingertips.
But - I cant keep up with it all
So - I join mailing lists to advise me
It is through one of these lists that I discovered the awesomeness that was "Strictly Gershwin". The performance was a celebration of George Gershwin and the sparkling age of Hollywood music and dance. There was a full jazz orchestra (big band styles) that busted out tunes with perfection and charisma. All the brass players had multiple instruments and would switch between horns, saxophones, flutes etc for each particular song. There were singers and soloists who were all typically brilliant.
Unfortunately I barely got time to glance at the musicians as I was totally mesmerised by the dancing. I haven't seen a proper ballet since I resigned my aspirations to be a dancer in early high school and had forgotten what it is like to be breathless in wonder at the grace and agility of the dancers. It was the English National Ballet and the performance exceeded my expectations. There were also tap dancers, ballroom dancers and somewhat annoying rollerskaters. Annoying because one of them was clearly not all that comfortable on the skates and I spent the whole song worried she would trip and cause some sort of domino effect and tumble all the other ballerinas.
It was spectacular. I forgot to breathe at times.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Start spreading the news, Im leaving today, I want to be a part of it - New York New York
A notable observation of American culture is that they don’t have cafes like everywhere else in the world with nice seats and décor and coffee mugs. Instead they have diners or canteens where you get your food on a plastic tray in disposable containers and when finished you slide it all in the bin. I do think that America lacks class in many ways such as this but somehow in New York it goes unnoticed as the magnificence of the city is blinding. On the last night we went to a rooftop bar and the view of the city was so beautiful and perfect it was almost as if we were sitting in a dome with the view projected onto a screen. It was a bit surreal - particularly with the colourful empire state building towering to our right, and a bit further across the Chrysler building which looks awesome at night.
Times square is overwhelming. The advertisements are intense. I couldn’t believe the one I have illustrated below. It is an ad for a popular TV show aimed at teenagers and OMFG is abbreviation for "oh my fucking god"
The metro is dodgy. Unlike the tube in London it seems only nefarious looking people choose to use this as a form of transport. We used cabs as soon as it got dark, which is ok, because I love hailing them. I love running onto the street and throwing half your body out to attract them and giving destinations in a very "New York" fashion - 34th and Fifth, or 94th and Broadway etc. I had to be careful not to gesticulate too much when I was speaking by the side of the road as taxis screech to a halt when I flail my arms about.
The buskers were incredible. Utterly incredible. One guy contorted his body in ways worthy of cirque de soleil and another flipped over a row of 6.5 people (the half person being a child). Another set of break dancing buskers had a member with possibly the best body ive ever seen who flipped and tumbled and made his pecks dance. Once two men got on the metro (where their talents were wasted) and busted out gospel tune with the most amazing harmony, rhythm, character etc
and also:
- It was fleet week - there were sailors everywhere.
- The weather was amazing - I got very sunburnt on my shoulders. The americans acted like they had never seen sunburn before…particularly when you are just wandering and not at the beach. I think my skin totally freaked out at the sight of sun and got a bit excited and tried to stock up to last the next little while of rain in London.
- We did a lot of shopping. The exchange rate is divine and hence I thought it was worthwhile making enough purchases for westpac to think my credit card was stolen and cancel it.
- I had a chocolate margarita - was interesting
Thursday, 29 May 2008
martini aficionado
I have found the place in London where the upper crust of society like to consume a martini or two. A hotel around a corner near the Ritz boasts what are allegedly the martinis that inspired the "shaken not stirred" James Bond beverage of choice. At £16 each they didn’t disappoint and have turned my father into a fellow martini aficionado. The gentleman who made them on a little trolley in front of us totally fit the polite and knowledgeable stereotype of British butlers. There were also a few 20-something men dressed in a way I can only describe as like prince William having drinks and talking in very posh english accents. I felt very unrefined - but in a good way - like I could never be the immaculate chanel wearing lady with straight hair and polished shoes but what I am has a hell of a lot more character. There was also a girl about my age with a man a great deal older than her who was certainly not her father.
It was a fitting end to a wonderful week with the parents, which included quaint English pubs, hand picked lettuce, jazz, scantily clad girls dancing around (Chicago), me and mum being banned from bottles of champagne, dad falling asleep in public, scary stalking squirrels, divine food, record stores etc etc...
It was a fitting end to a wonderful week with the parents, which included quaint English pubs, hand picked lettuce, jazz, scantily clad girls dancing around (Chicago), me and mum being banned from bottles of champagne, dad falling asleep in public, scary stalking squirrels, divine food, record stores etc etc...
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
music for the soul
Given my rather extensive knowledge of acoustics I feel qualified to say that the best environment for a small instrumental group to play in is a church. This is obviously subject to the size and nature of the ensemble but for the rich, reverberant sound suited to music such as "Stars of the Lid" I don’t think you could find a better place. The wooden walls, ceiling, fittings, pews, floor provide a highly reflective surface to reverberate the frequencies around to create layers of notes, commingling into music that penetrates the soul. Words just cant explain how good it was. I almost cried.
When I was studying the acoustics of bells for my thesis I learnt that there are bells in china that are so large and produce such a low frequency it is unheard by the human ear. The vibrations can however be felt so it is literally described as "music for the soul". I was thinking of this at the concert because the bass was so low and intense it had a similar effect. I would call it music for the soul anyway, and the effect of the vibrations just enhanced this.
The band itself is described as follows (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_of_the_Lid) "Their songs are largely beatless soundscapes, composed of droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, strings, and horns; volume swells and feedback fill the gap of rhythmic instruments, providing dynamic movement within the songs. Their sound has been described as divine, classical drone without the tedious intrusion of drums or vocals."
Afterwards I went to buy a t-shirt for chris, who put me onto this band. One of the main duo (I believe it was Adam Wiltzie) was actually helping sell them so I went up and introduced myself and said how fantastic they were. He asked where I was from, we talked for a bit (although I was so in awe I wasn’t very functional in conversation) and then he helped me choose the right size shirt as I said chris is "a bit taller than him but quite skinny". He also advised me that americans are big and have big clothes. Then I pretty much levitated home I was buzzing so much.
When I was studying the acoustics of bells for my thesis I learnt that there are bells in china that are so large and produce such a low frequency it is unheard by the human ear. The vibrations can however be felt so it is literally described as "music for the soul". I was thinking of this at the concert because the bass was so low and intense it had a similar effect. I would call it music for the soul anyway, and the effect of the vibrations just enhanced this.
The band itself is described as follows (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_of_the_Lid) "Their songs are largely beatless soundscapes, composed of droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, strings, and horns; volume swells and feedback fill the gap of rhythmic instruments, providing dynamic movement within the songs. Their sound has been described as divine, classical drone without the tedious intrusion of drums or vocals."
Afterwards I went to buy a t-shirt for chris, who put me onto this band. One of the main duo (I believe it was Adam Wiltzie) was actually helping sell them so I went up and introduced myself and said how fantastic they were. He asked where I was from, we talked for a bit (although I was so in awe I wasn’t very functional in conversation) and then he helped me choose the right size shirt as I said chris is "a bit taller than him but quite skinny". He also advised me that americans are big and have big clothes. Then I pretty much levitated home I was buzzing so much.
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