Sunday At Collaroy

On a day like today we are not in any winter thrall to speak of. Wave after flat wave softly slushes into the sand and dies in a sigh, to be gently gathered up again and returned to the white hot glitter of blue sea diamonds which are spread out today under a clear sky and bright sun. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Emanuel Ax LipSync

The third row in the main hall of the Sydney Opera House is a good place to be if you want the music, in this case Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.22 in E Flat, K482 to wash over you. It does so literally and figuratively and the sound cocoons  you up, inviting you to close your eyes and to be lost in it. And, if you are not careful, to start nodding off. It is 34 minutes of relaxation, through the seats prevent you from completely slipping away. The third row is also a good place from which to be distracted by all the movement happening in the violins and  cellos (you can’t see much orchestra beyond that)  and to watch the disheveled Emanuel Ax, Ukrainian (now American) piano magician run his fingers over the Steinway. But it was his mouth that caught my attention. For a moment I thought he was counting time and maybe he was. But it was pretty clear he had something else he was singing to the concerto as he got lost in his own music. I gave up trying to work it out and closed my eyes in order to enjoy it all the more, and did so hoping he was not simply running doh re me scales in his head.

Stumble it!

Top Secret Travel via Google Earth

In another life I was an imagery analyst in the military. Locked away in a bunker somewhere looking at images of all sorts from a myriad of sources. I enjoyed the stereoscopic work most of all, handling and caressing one dimensional data in a three dimensional illusion. It is an entirely convincing world - gamers understand the inclination to twist your head to look under a bridge - when there is nothing to look under. There is none of that adventure with Google Earth (regrettably) but I can easily find myself distracted by it nonetheless, taking myself on travels to places I have been, and others I have not - except in that three dimensional illusionary world. Let’s take a little journey to places that hint of that world. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

EV Lacertae Shows Off

Display Courtesy of God, Text Courtesy of NASA

“For many years scientists have known that our sun gives off powerful explosions, known as flares, that contain millions of times more energy than atomic bombs. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Books as Art

Over the years I have envied family and friends who have been settled in one place and who have libraries shelved. Mine have travelled with me for years, most tucked away in boxes packed with moth balls. Over the last few months I have been slowly getting some floor to ceiling shelves built and a small library has started to come together, giving long denied ready access to those boxed books but also turning the room into its own art form. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Tourist in Sydney

Occasionally we have attempted to be a tourist in our own town but we usually stagger to a hotel, collapse, have a late breakfast on the sidewalk and then head home feeling somewhat cheated and resolved to be more “touristy”next time. This morning I walked with some friends along 10km of track only minutes from home. It’s perhaps the best result of checking out my own town in a long time. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Grief in the Rubble

An echo in my ear when the towers came down in New York was an American woman on the news, completely mystified, asking why do “they hate us so much?” The question resonated over the incident and in the press over the next few weeks and months. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Nothing else needs to be said…

Stumble it!

That eBook Screen!

I am still messing with this thing sent down by RocketXL. But it took someone else to point out,as they sat across the table from me, that the screen was not reflective. The sort of blinding obvious quality I would have liked to think I would have picked up but had not. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!

Dubai Tarmac

While the new airport is currently being built (a massive enterprise which we are all looking forward to seeing complete - the current airport crowds and bustle resemble the New Delhi railway station, not a first world air port) you can find yourself being shuttled to and from you aircraft by bus and walking to your aircraft. Which you might find inconvenient in 45 degree heat but which takes any plane spotters into seventh heaven as you are taken back to the smell of avgas, tire rubber, and the whine of turbines. All lost in the cocoon of modern airports

Stumble it!

Melbourne in the Rear View Mirror

Well, in this case, in the side mirror. The perpetual (and petulant) feud between the two cities about which is the better of the two is no doubt only going to be exacerbated by news out today that Melbourne has eclipsed Sydney in the number of domestic tourists hitting town and now ranks as the nation’s leading tourist destination. I have lived in both cities and have to say that, well I do enjoy the joke that asks what the best view of Melbourne is. (The one in your rear view mirror of course). Still, they both run rings around Newark!!

Stumble it!

The Ghosts of Jerash

They follow you around this place. Sometimes they silently appear from behind golden pillars with authentic fake coins to sell. Sometimes they rise out of the ground in the middle distance, shimmering among the rocks,  and silently beckon to you to come and look at some ancient wonder, their dark robes flapping in the hot, dry, oven baked  air.  Other times you look behind you in the tunnels of the amphitheatre and wait for their silent appearance from around the curve of the wall. You hear their steps but never see them, no matter how quickly or how often you spin around. These ones only touch your skin on the back of your head, never your eyes. Follow the white rabbit»

Stumble it!