“Would you like to suggest a word that makes you feel good, or makes you feel happy?” I was asked by a woman on Walker Street, Redfern today. She was one of the artists participating in the Redfern Biennale today. I didn’t look too closely at work, but she told me she was adding the different words people suggested to the artwork itself. After a moment of deep thought, I said “family”, as I was planning a Google Hangout with my family who lives in Lismore later this afternoon.
Until I received an invitation to attend from a friend I hadn’t realised the Redfern Biennale had been staged twice before.
The concept is simple:
We invite you to view readymades, sculpture, multi media, new media, painting, found object, anything and everything placed along Walker Street, Redfern between Cooper and Redfern Streets.
The Redfern Biennale, attracting the work of 50 practicing artists and Housing Commission artgroups, is an outdoor, eclectic, democratic free-for-all happening, that will just happen on the day. There is no Council approval; we are just placing the work on the streets for seven hours, rain, hail or shine.
I love the slightly anarchic approach to say they had no council approval for this.
Here are some of the photographs I took as I walked around this afternoon of the works I really liked.
I though some of the works were very good; others not as good. But interesting, nonetheless. I also thought it was great to see well known Sydney arts figure, Damien Minton (formerly his own gallery, now at Watters) supporting this.
As I sit down on New Years Eve to think about what’s happened in my life this year, there’s so much to reflect upon: overseas trips, new adventures at work, and the death of a close family member.
I ended last year feeling 2009 had been a year of treading water: I hadn’t really done all that much exciting in either my personal or professional life.
I began 2010 with a renewed sense of anticipation: in March I was returning to Sweden in significantly different circumstances to the last time in 2008. and I was to be on a panel at the Radio Days Conference in Copenhagen.
After my trip there in the summer two years ago, I was keen to go back and experience Sweden at a different time of the year. “Could I cope with the long, dark cold winter months?”, I asked myself. Probably not is the answer, but I gave the end of winter/the start of spring a try by visiting Sweden during March. When I arrived it was snowing and the waterways around Stockholm were frozen over. I went out on a ice-breaker and walked on ice for the first time in my life, nearly escaping plunging to my death by walking too close to the edge of a wharf. It would have been a dramatic way to go, though, wouldn’t it?
Stockholm winter ice tour
As well as experiencing the delights of a Swedish spring, I also went to Melodifestivalen, the Swedish finals for Eurovision, attended quite a few pop concerts, met some interesting people, and generally had a fine holiday.
I was also lucky enough to be invited to be a panelist at the Radio Days Europe Conference held in March in Copenhagen, and got to meet some people working in similar jobs in different parts of the world.
Captured on video at Radio Days Europe
My second overseas trip this year was to China. My friend Kate has been living there on and off for a few years, and I’ve been thinking of going for a while. As she had an exhibition opening in November, I asked when she had a window of opportunity and grabbed it. I loved Beijing. Seriously the best food I’ve ever eaten consistently on any holiday ever. And there was a lot to see and do, includng all of the obvious tourist spots. It was great to hang out with Kate and with some of the artists she was looking after while there. A return trip to China? Yes possibly.
My last trip was very much a backpacker’s adventure, whereas this was a more grown up holiday experience. Deep in the back of my mind throughout was the question about whether or not I’d like to live in Sweden for a while, or whether this was a short-term obsession that would pass with time. I’ve concluded the answer is yes, I’d like to live there, and have 2012 as the ball-park year I’d like to do it, though that may go back a little depending on what happens with work.
My second overseas trip this year was to China. My friend Kate has been living there on and off for a few years, and I’ve been thinking of going for a while. As she had an exhibition opening in November, I asked when she had a window of opportunity and grabbed it. I loved Beijing.
Thats me and thats the Great Wall of China
Seriously the best food I’ve ever eaten consistently on any holiday ever. And there was a lot to see and do, including all of the obvious tourist spots. It was great to hang out with Kate and with some of the artists she was looking after while there. A return trip to China? Yes possibly.
James O’Brien, Phil James and Guy Maestri on the Great Wall of China
On the professional front, I enjoyed the challenges of a new “acting” position throughout most of the year looking after nationally networked content on ABC Radio. And then towards the end of the year, “acting” in the role of Network Development Manager which looks after a range of special event programming and other associated “development” work. Many aspects of the job are pretty sexy, and I loved acting in the role, and then securing it in the days before Christmas.
On the personal front, I went on a couple of dates this year, though nothing long-term came from either. I’ve yet to come to grips with how I feel about the idea of a relationship. Sometimes I feel like it would be nice to have someone there in a different way to close friends. Other times I feel like it may be all too much, and that deep down I know that I’m probably still too selfish to share my life with someone else and vice versa. I’m also reminded of advice several years ago which was “don’t leave it to late”.
Sadness struck our family this year with the death of Gloria, who plays a special role in my life. After several years suffering with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s she died in June this year. In many ways her passing was a relief as she had been in a lot of pain for quite some time. Her death has affected her immediate family of Sharon and John deeply, as they had also lost son, John, three years ago. On the positive side, I’m hoping it’s lead to a renewed closeness between all of us.
Gloria Pepper, James O’Brien
I spent the last ten days of the year at home with my family in Lismore. Usually I just come home for a few days and then head back to Sydney, but I think I got the mix right this year. I was allowed to work from the office in Lismore which meant I could spend daytime at work, but night-time and weekend with my family which made for a very happy combination for all of us.
This time last year I felt as though I’d spent the year “treading water”. A year later, I feel like I’m happier, healthier (I’ve also lost weight this year), and generally feeling quite good about myself and my life.
Looking ahead to 2011, there’s a lot to anticipate. I have a new job, and hopefully the capacity to do some interesting work. Our art group, Hawkesbury One, winds up with an exhibition at the Newcastle Regional Gallery. And although I have no firm travel plans for the year, I’m sure something will eventuate. But overall, looking ahead to 2011, I’m feeling pretty good about life.
I had to be at work this morning at about 7.30 to head out to the Royal Easter Show. I woke, of course, just after the alarm on my mobile phone went off at 6am. I only pressed the snooze button once and was up and ready for the world at about 6.15. Feeling good about life, I got up and went for a walk around the block, before returning home for a shower at about 7am. At about 7.20, I put a call in to my colleague June to tell her I’d be there in about 15 minutes, ahead of going out to Homebush. No answer. That’s odd, I thought, but I just assumed she must have been busy.
On getting into a cab I looked at the time on the clock. It was 8.30am. “I think you need to re-set your clock, mate, it’s the wrong time”, I said. To which he replied, “No no it’s right”. At that point I showed him my mobile phone with the time still clearly 7.30am. I then got on to June who also told me it was 8.30am, though another colleague Tim also insisted it was 7.30am. When it was clear to me it wasn’t, I rang Tim, urgently telling him we were bothan hour late.
Clearly both Tim and I were victims of the modern technological era. We both rely on our mobile phones as alarm clocks. And while the cleverness of our mobile phones acknowledged the whole world was changing back to regular standard time (and changed accordingly), they hadn’t realised in NSW our time change doesn’t happen for a further week.
In chatting to an older bloke – he would have been about 60 years old – he told me his son called him this morning asking him “dad what time is it?”. Clearly he was in the same boat and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were many other people who were late for work today. Early adopters and younger Australians beware – don’t rely too heavily on modern technology.
Anyway, it was a fun day at the Royal Easter Show, even if it was more work than pleasure today. With just a limited amount of time to wander and enjoy, I concentrated on my favourite exhibits – livestock and produce.
After walking around for a while I looked back at my mobile phone. In changing the time zone to accommodate the daylight saving time situation, some of calendar information (synched with Outlook and Google) is now inaccurate – shit – shit – shit, but at least I’ll be able to get up on time tomorrow. I hope.
Having seen Au Pair, Kansas the other day and all of its faux Swedish-ness, it was great to see a real Swedish film, as part of the Mardi Gras Film Festival.
“Fyra år till” (Four More Years) tells the story of two Swedish male politicians with contrasting lives and viewpoints who fall in love. From the right-leaning Folkpartiet, there is David who is thought of as a potential future Swedish Prime Minister. From the left-leaing, Socialdemokraterna there is Martin who also has a bright future ahead of him as Party Chairman. The contrasts between the two are further emphasised by the fact that Martin is completely out as a gay man, while David is a fairly closeted man who is actually married to a woman. She knows he is gay, but doesn’t seem to mind, since they have politics as a common interest.
It’s a classic love story in many ways, as you see the two come together, fall apart, and all the while you’re hoping they’ll end up together by the end of the film.
It was a good film which my friend and I both enjoyed very much, particularly with all of the very specific Swedish cultural references which we both laughed out loud to, but which may have gone slightly over the heads of a few of those attending.
At one point, for example, David asks Martin how many men he has slept with. Although I can’t remember the exact wording of his very funny answer, he replies by equating the figure to the number of seats held by the different political parties in the Swedish parliament. It would be like saying, more than the Greens, but not as much as the National Party (or something like that).
There’s also an ongoing reference to the 1980s/1990s Swedish pop band, Ratata. I guess the closest equivalent would be Savage Garden. Ratata and Mauro (the lead singer) provide the soundtrack to the film, which was enjoyable, as I like their work very much.
One of the really terrific things about the film was the role of David was played by Björn Kjellman. He’s one of Sweden’s best known actors, and who I first became familiar with from his role as a transexual in the film, Livet är en schlager (Life is a pop song), which was a wonderful film about an “ordinary” woman who wins the the Melodifestivalen, the Swedish finals which lead to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Björn has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Melodifestivalen, and was actually a contestant in 2006. I think he and I could become good friends.
I swear the children’s books in the waiting room of my local medical centre today were the same ones I read as a child, all those years ago in Dr Stewart’s waiting room. The only apparent difference between then and now was the absence of “The Three Little Black Boys” (it was the 60s, after all) and the presence of a copy of the “Sydney Star Observer”. That one of the books was marked as costing 2-cents was an indication it was a post-decimalisation publication at least.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in doctor’s waiting rooms over the last few days. Some are good, some are not so good. Surry Hills is good. The staff and the doctors are friendly, and even if they sometimes run out of chairs, the waiting time is generally not too bad. It was the same on Saturday at Bondi Junction. I was in and out very quickly. Darlinghurst was a bit of a drag yesterday, having to wait a couple of hours until I could see a nurse or doctor for a fairly simple bandage change.
Things are coming along nicely on the recovery front. Even though I now have a massive bruise on my arm where the drip was (not a good look in Surry Hills), my wound is itchy which is a good thing, apparently…
The itch of a healing wound is caused by the growth of new cells underneath the old scab. New skin cells would be growing underneath there, and as they form a new layer of skin, then the scab becomes more tightly stretched over this zone of activity. This can make it feel itchy. The itch sensation for burn survivors may be a tingling feeling caused by nerves re-growing, or from dry skin caused by the lack of natural oil production since oil glands may have been damaged or destroyed by the burn. As the nerves grow and start to receive and send messages, they may create that itchy feeling. The skin in this area will be a lot less thick than everywhere else, so these new nerve cells will be under a lot more pressure.Most people say that itching is a sign of healing. It is best to avoid itching of the wound. If it becomes too much of a problem, speak with the doctor or nurse. They may order medications by mouth or some topical cream to help make this more tolerable
Like most blokes my age I need a medical emergency or crisis to convince me to see a doctor. Thus, it’s not that often that I spend time in waiting rooms. I’m making up for it now in spaces with a need for these daily dressings. Thanks to things like Twitter and Google+, and having the Kindle Cloud Reader on my phone, I can keep myself mentally occupied as I wait. What did we do in the old days? Did we really read all of those terrible books and magazines.
There’s always something “scarey” about trying a new cuisine. Even though I’m fairly adventurous, by nature, when it comes to food, there’s still some apprehension. Apprehension that you’ll order the “wrong thing”, or that you’ll make a cultural faux pas. That’s why I’ve been walking past a fairly new nearby restaurant in Surry Hills, never stopping in to order.
The words “Biryani” and “Hyderabadi” have meant nothing to me, and that’s why I haven’t stopped in to eat, or get takeaway from Pista House.
The “Pista House” on Crown Street, Surry Hills has been consistently busy since it opened a few months ago. Despite my lack of knowledge about the cuisine they offer, the attraction of a busy restaurant got the better of me the other night, so I called in to grab some takeaway. The menu looked so incredibly “foreign” to me, and so I chose “chicken biryani” as something which sounded like I couldn’t go wrong. I also chose “medium” spicyness for the same/similar reason.
Hyderabadi cuisine (native: Hyderabadi Ghizaayat), also known as Deccani cuisine, is the native cooking style of the Hyderabadi Muslims, and began to develop after the foundation of the Bahmani Sultanate, and more drastically with the Qutb Shahi dynasty around the city of Hyderabad, promoting the native cuisine along with their own. Hyderabadi cuisine had become a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad State, as it began to further develop further on from there. It is an amalgamation of Mughal, Turkish, and Arabic along with the influence of the native Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. Hyderabadi cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, wheat and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices, herbs and natural edibles.
In the meal I ordered there was lots of rice. It was tasty enough, though nothing special in my view. But at least I’ve now tried it.
As I’ve gone through my photographs of the last week there have been lots of food photographs, so I thought I’d share a few.
Friday Lunch with Friends : Beetroot, Tomato and Watermelon Salad with haloumi at Cook & Archies, Surry Hills. Very tasty, and a nice place to catch up for lunch with some now-retired former colleagues.Lunch today alone : Linguini Marinara, the $14 Lunch Special at the Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. Though I don’t understand why there was a sprig on top, the meal was very tasty, and good value.And finally, coffee. I still haven’t settled on my “permanent replacement” to the Coles Supermarket at Surry Hills. Today, I bought some groceries at Aldi on Oxford Street. As it was “Fair Trade” and super-cheap ($4.95), I thought I’d try this brand of coffee. Fingers crossed.
Sometimes when I’m feeling a little stressed I like to play the poker machines. It’s usually only two or three times a year, and I get bored pretty quickly with it. But I still think it’s fun.
Today after I work I did just that. I popped into a nearby pub, got myself a beer and sat down in the front of the King Of The Nile.
As I get bored easily, and as I think you’re never really going to win on poker machines, I go for the high-speed, high-risk approach to gambling. That is, I decide how much I can afford to lose – today I chose $20 – and I take the maximum bet approach. Today, that meant 20 x $1 bets. Short enough to avoid the boredom, but large enough so there’s an element of risk. Either I’ll lose it all – which I’ve mentally prepared myself for – or I’ll at least get my money back, or hopefully win. Today I won $120 which was a welcome surprise.
On top of my Melbourne Cup office sweep win on Tuesday, and discovering $50 left behind in an ATM, it’s fast becoming a week of financial windfalls.
