Category: Art

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2012

Here’s a shot of the foyer of our hotel, the Crowne Plaza:

It’s a very nice hotel, with massive rooms and comfortable beds! It’s also very close to the CBD, which seems to be one massive shopping center. It was into this tangle I ventured in the early hours searching for breakfast. I found this:

Yes readers, that’s a fresh from the oven cheese & bacon roll. I would eat 3 of these today alone.

The CBD shopping area is home to a great amount of wonderful graffiti murals and stencils. Here are some examples:

Our first destination today was the National Gallery, and the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit which is on display right now.

Look at AW boulevarding in that photo! The exhibit was impressive, but I have to say I was particular taken by a few other exhibits in the museum. One was this painting by Melville, entitled The Squatters Hut:

It’s quite large in person, and brighter than the above image suggests. I was especially charmed by the cockatoo! This was one of many wonderful Colonial Australian paintings on exhibit, and the beauty of the collection almost excused the travesty that is the failure to display Norman Lindsay.

This was my lunch:

After I ate the ~~horribly dry thing shown~~ above we headed to our next destination, the War Memorial.

This is a remarkable museum that honors all Australians ever killed in war. It is a deeply moving place with more to see that can be seen in any one visit, and a wall of remembrance upon which the names of all fallen Australian soldiers are listed:

That’s just a small portion of the wall, showing some of the tens of thousands of Australians list in the Great War. The red things are artificial poppies placed there by visitors.

Of all the countless exhibits in the museum the one I find most moving is this photo:

Australian soldiers took some kangaroos with them to Egypt at the start of the First World War to remind them of home. Ours was a small country then, but we fought alongside England and many, many Australians were killed. The kangaroos survived, and in 1915 were donated to Cairo zoo.

Today is New Year’s Eve, and around 9 we headed to the official celebration in the CBD. Here’s Adam displaying the typical crowd response to the entertainment, which was Johnny “I was famous 20 years ago” Diesel:

Mercifully his set was brief, and at 9 pm we were treated to a spectacular firework display:

Tomorrow is a new year. Happy New Year to everyone reading this, and best wishes for the year ahead 🙂

Operation: Capital Gains

December 30, 2012

Very early (I woke at 3:45!) this morning, we boarded this train, bound for the Australian capital city of Canberra.

The train was clean and comfy, which was good because the trip was 4.5 hours in length. Adam read 4 newspapers, while I watched Australia go by out the window:

The first half of the trip was all cows, and the second half sheep (as the above show). The landscape – aside from the Great Dividing Range – was exactly as you see above. I only saw one Kangaroo, not too far from Canberra.

Our first stop was the Royal Australian Mint, where all Aussie coins are made. A charming lass led a 45 minute tour, and we spent some time perusing the displays and shop. It was fascinating stuff, with such things as ‘Kookaburra pennies’ and $300k + rare coins from the 1930s. Worth a visit if you’re ever here.

Afterwards we headed to the seat of Australian government, known as Parliament House:

Opened in 1988, this is a massive and impressive building that I was surprised to discover is almost completely open to the public. Here’s where the politicians do their jobs, for instance:

Here’s one example of the many striking artworks in the building:

And here’s a majestic portrait of the great Paul Keating, my favorite Australian prime minister:

We took the chance to stroll from Parliament House to our hotel, a walk that took us over Lake Burley Griffon on a bridge. It was mid afternoon and the heat had picked up quite a bit.

By the time we got to the hotel (which is swanky), we were both ruined and retired early. Being old has its disadvantages 🙁

I Boldly Went

December 4, 2012

Yes, my friends, from an equally mysterious source, I very recently managed to obtain this fine treasure:

OMG part 2! It’s a factory sealed box of Star Trek trading cards all the way from 1992! Look at the sheen of the pristine shrink-wrap! What fabulous treasures must be sealed inside?

Let’s find out:

Oh, alluring black and pink and blue! These packs just scream ‘Open me!‘ don’t they? Interesting how the divide between the TNG and OS packs is horizontal now compared to the series 1 box isn’t it?

Here’s a closer look at two of these little pouches of loot:

And here are the exact cards from the rightmost pack in the above photo:

A ‘Vulcan Lyrette‘?? It’s difficult, in English, to describe just how truly terrible most of the OS series cards in this set are. I loved looking at and reading each one of these marvelous cards! Here’s a shining example:

If we had a merciful God, I would be joking. Alas, I am not 🙂

Oh, but the TNG cards! They are wondrous! Doctor Leah Brahms! The last tragic moment of Tasha Yar’s life! Lwaxana Troi! Doctor Pulaski! Even the wonderful, wonderful Q! Surely a better card set couldn’t possibly exist?

And then there’s this work of art:

Yes my friends, resistance to the charm of these cards is positively futile!

So, my original offer stands. I purchased these not only for myself, but for each of you as well. I just know you want some of these, and my condition is trifling.

Simply, in 100 words or less, complete the following sentence in a comment:

“Excluding the obvious choice of Reginald Barkley, the Star Trek: TNG character I most identify with is _____________ because ____________ “

Serious answers only please! Let’s join the United Federation of Planets together 🙂

Robot Claw