Posted by Jerry on August 15th, 2008 — Posted in History, Journal, Travel
Sydney’s observatory and astronomy museum is located at Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks. And it is well worth a visit. The observatory started life in the 1850s as a time ball tower – at 1.00pm each day the ball would be raised and dropped exactly on the hour as a time signal for ships in the harbour below. A canon would be fired simaltaneously so there was both a visual and audible time signal. The custom continues today.
Today in the museum you can see the transit telescope used to map the Southern sky between 1880 and 1962 as part of an international project to map the entire night sky.
The 29-inch telescope is the oldest working telescope in Australia. It was installed to observe the 1874 transit of Venus. It is housed in a copper dome. The telescope is kept on track by a clockwork mechanism similar to that used on the Oddie telescope that was destroyed by Canberra’s 2003 bushfire.
The observatory is open 10.00am-5.00pm daily, and you can book for night viewings – check their website for details.
Comments Off on Sydney travel – Sydney Observatory
Posted by Jerry on August 13th, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Travel
On arrival in Sydney I was given a lesson in patience… well, not me personally, but the person waiting behind us at the supermarket as we were buying milk and coffee for our stay.
After paying for the goods, it took a moment to put the change in the wallet, and replace the wallet in the backpack, while the checkout operator called out ‘next please’. The man behind me pushed up close, muttered about how rude people are, and demanded his change. As this was going on I completed what I needed, reshouldered my bag and picked up the shopping bag.
I was wondering vaguely who had offended this man, wherupon he pushed passed me, spun around and told me I should be in a retirement home – with a few additional expletives to emphasise his point. I laughed at his joke and told him to have a nice day as well – by then he was heading off up the escalator. The security guard visibly relaxed at the man’s departure – perhaps fearing a conflict between myself and the unfortunate stranger. ‘What an impatient person’ I thought. and this made me think a little about the concept of patience.
Patience (ˈpā-shənz) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances. This can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. – Wikipedia
I reflected on what this man’s demonstrated lack of patience meant for the broader society. Sydney is a modern highly pressured city, and perhaps the poor man was late for his bus or train, or perhaps it had become a habit to be rushing everywhere – even at the end of the day when perhaps his business appointments had concluded. Perhaps he had had a bad day and my delay at the checkout was some sort of last straw.
It also occurred to me that it is important to take time for living. To appreciate what is around us, and to see opportunities in every situation. My small backpack might have alerted him to the fact that I was a stranger in his town, and that a short delay could have resulted in a pleasant -if brief – conversation. So perhaps he wasted an opportunity. Indeed my brief sojourn in Sydney is precisely so that I can take a little time for living – a mini-break from a fairly busy work life in Canberra, meet up with friends old and new and dine with them around me and engage them in conversation.
I think it was Epicurus (341 BCE, Samos – 270 BCE, Athens) who held that one should live a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. It may have been Epicurus who held that it is better to eat a crust of bread with friends than to feast alone. I’m guessing that the man who accosted me was not by nature an Epicurean.
Cheers
Jerry
Comments Off on Sydney travel – a short lesson in patience, and a moment with Epicurus
Posted by Jerry on June 23rd, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Travel
It turned out that we were in Sydney just in time for the opening of the Sydney Biennale at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
You could tell something was up by the way the old sandstone building was covered with graffiti – but this wasn’t just any old graffiti…
And inside it seemed that the main theme was inversions. Like indigenous artist Gordon Bennett’s rejected proposal to hang all the aboriginal art in the main galleries and relegate the European stuff to the basement – and hang everything upside down. He had to be content with an honourable mention and a model of what the hang might have looked like.
The foyer was dominated by two main works- one, a performance piece by Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov (b.1957). The work – called “A Life (Black and White)” comprised two painters – each dressed in mirror image of white tee shirt and white overalls or black tee shirt and black overalls, painting the walls of the foyer. One painted the walls white while the other overpainted in black, and vice versa – for the duration of the exhibition in an endless loop. Perhaps it is a commentary on the futility of intentionality. And it works on so many levels.
Perth artist James Angus (b.1970) installed his “Bugatti Type 35” in the foyer. Made from steel, aluminium, rubber, leather, fibre glass and automobile lacquer, his piece comments on the car’s original designer Ettore Bugatti, who trained as an artist and became an auto designer. His Type 35 in the 1920s redefined the car and the notion of speed. Angus’ exquisitely finished version is skewed by 30 degrees – referencing speed, but at the same time rendering all functionality impossible with ellipsoid wheels as though the whole car was distorted by speed, yet snap frozen never to move again.
Further in, as you get to the standard displays I enjoyed the whimsical piece that I immediately christened “Bugger” – depicting two porcelain busts on pedestals gazing down at the broken shards of a third bust scattered on the floor. The piece is by Italian artist Giulio Paolini (b. Genoa 1940), and is called ‘L’Alto figura’, and was produced in 1984.
And I always enjoy the Canaletto painting in the European section – And although he painted many similar scenes, I love the detail in this work, as though he were trying to convey information about the culture of the time, including the technology and the economy of Venice in the 17th century.
Don’t forget to visit the Living Black exhibition downstairs – there are great kinetic works by George Ward Tjungurray, and intriguing work by Billy Thomas leading you into a kind of reading between the dots. He has painted ceremony – but under erasure, with a profusion of white dots obscuring the subject. This is a really thought provoking piece.
The Biennale brings together 180 artists from 42 countries and includes 65 new works. The exhibition is on from 18 June until 7 September. And it is well worth a visit – what do you think?
Cheers
Jerry
Comments Off on Sydney Biennale 2008: Revolution – Forms that turn
Posted by Jerry on June 21st, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Travel
In Sydney to record some music for an EP I went online and booked a bargain with Wotif.com finding a Waldorf apartment in Woolloomooloo at a good rate – the Woolloomooloo Waters apartments. The room is comfortable and clean and there is secure parking below ground.
It is situated right around the corner from the naval wharf and close to good coffee shops (like the one I’m in with free wifi access for customers). The coffee shop is the Sienna Marina Restaurant and bar at Woolloomooloo. They have good wifi connection (4 bars) just ask the staff for a password. This is one of the undiscovered districts of Sydney and here’s why…
Around the corner is a set of steps with a breathtaking view of the city – which makes it an easy walk to Kings Cross and from there to the main shopping and coffee shop areas.
Some parts like to play down the vibrancy of city living…
I’ll post more on the recording experience soon
Cheers
Jerry
Comments Off on Sydney – a quick visit
Posted by Jerry on June 2nd, 2008 — Posted in History, Journal, Steam, Technology, Travel
Henry Seth Taylor (1833-1887) built Canada’s first self-propelled buggy in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada in 1867. The buggy took seven years to build. The boiler was wood-fired and operated at 60lbs pressure. The four wheeled single seat open carriage had tiller steering and carried the water tank over the front axle.
Here is a view of the engine from the underside
On its second run, inventor and builder Taylor crashed it (he had neglected to install brakes), after which he abandoned automobile production and turned his attention to building a steam yacht. The buggy can be seen today in the Canada Science and Technology museum. Canada’s first car was given recognition in 1993 by being depicted on a Canada Post stamp.
2 Comments »
