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There are Thoughts which come >>> And Thoughts which go >>>
And so ...
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ARCHIVE 11 1st October 2004 to 19th November 2004 |
Friday 19th November 2004ad
Shooting an unarmed wounded man in the
head,
seems not the way to win hearts and minds.
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Thursday 18th November 2004ad
My Frangipani seems finally to be
putting out a new branch.
A very late end to winter, even for one of this perverse species.
<<<<<<<-S->>>>>>>
Last night was Sibelius Cycle Concert Number Two! See below:
s Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO] - Sibelius Cycle Conductor = Vladimir Ashkenazy. f Oceanides. Actually the idea which drove this short work is derived from Homer; the was from America; while the inspiration was very much from Debussy. There is much "shivering" from the strings. It is very much French Impressionist, and its charcter may be somewhat surprising. Symphony Number Three. Only three Movements. It is very compact, restrained in its instrumentation too. While, it is a very competent composition, I found it less memorable than his Second Symphony, although essentially equally so to his first. And it has the problem, that slotted between the unusual [for Sibelius] Oceanides and the brilliant vituosity of his Violin Concerto, it is going to suffer in its appeal. But equally so, in arranging the Cycle, there has to be a balance of the flamboyant & the restrained within Sibelius' work. Violin Concerto. The Soloist was Boris Belkin. As so often happens, a Violinist whom you have no knowledge of previously, turns out to be so good, you are left to wonder as to how you did not know. Whilst waiting, he holds his Violin clutched in his left fist; a gentle not a crushing fist; but a fist all the same. It seemed to me to be the way that a Woodcarver would hold some piece of intricately carved wood; firmly but gently. As his part was coming close, he would adjust its position, so that his left hand was already on the strings, ready to finger chords, whilst his right nonchalantly cradled the base. As he rested the Violin in his left hand, he was often prone to run the fingers of his right hand down the gut of the bow, to remove loose threads. An obvious thing to do, I think, and yet, I cannot recall ever having seen another Violinist do this. Sibelius' Violin Concerto sounds masterful, and is very difficult to play. I was seated in the front row, directly facing Boris Belkin, and so I had a fine view of his performance. It was played without apparent tension, his hands showing a calm assurance. But the quality of the sound was quite off the planet! As they say, it blew my mind away. It is interesting that Ashkenazy noticeably sweated during the Concerto, but Belkin did not. <<<<<<<-A->>>>>>>s The SSO performed excellently once more, but I shall not get lost in superlatives. <<<<<<-A->>>>>>>s The audience tonight seemed to have a different human composition to a significant extent to that of last friday. As then there was no applause between Movements, but last night there was, to a very noticeable extent. |
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Wednesday 17th November 2004ad
Boris Belkin has such assurance on the Violin. It quite blew my mind.
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It is the more or less the pinnacle of the Beehive Ginger flowering season. One may not notice the permanently lush deep green large leaves, despite their prominent background quality. However, the very tall flowering spikes, which sport an adundance of exquisite small flowers with a mauve colour dominance, are utterly unavoidable, once within one's field of vision.
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Morning Despair: - The bus ran at least eight minutes early. The train, due two minutes later, was cancelled. The next train after that was indicated as running nine minutes late. So I endured a force march of fourteen minutes, from Kings Cross to Town Hall, where I managed to connect with a train. This was the second of the two trains to Saint Leonards, which get me to work comfortably on time. But in doing this, I developed some problems with the muscles of my left thigh & calf, which continue to cause me some grief, even late this night.
The sooner Michael Costa resigns as NSW Transport Minister, the better! In the times BMC, afflictions like this were all but non-existent.
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n.b If it were not for the two hours sleep late this afternoon, I would be cactus!
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Tuesday 16th November 2004ad
Not long after 7.00pm, I was listening to "Background Briefing" on ABC Radio National. They discussed this new way of designing cloth using nanotechnology, which creates a fabric which liquid can not penetrate. So coffee spilt on trousers would simply wipe off, leaving no stain [their example]. Very impressive in itself! The programme then went on to surmise, that a lot of poor African cotton growers could be out of a job.
Not so fast! Something obvious has been missed here! As a fanatical cotton/linen/hemp clothing wearer, this is very obvious to me. Let me explain by using Socratic method.
Why do I wear cotton? ----- Because it is cool.
Why is it cool? ---- Because it has large holes in the material which beathe. That is, these holes allow a quick & substantial movement of air between my body below the cotton, and the outside air. So when I sweat, it evaporates through the cotton with ease.
Now, if liquid will not pass through this new material, will sweat be able to evaporate off and move through it to the outside air? ---- One would have to say no.
So, this new material will be hot to wear, considering the inability to lose sweat, and the infintesimal hole size, which naturally reduces air exchange through it? ---- It would seem so.
So would anyone, whose prime concern in choice of clothes material is coolness, wear this new material? ---- Obviously, they would not.
Conclusion: It make no sense to solve a minor problem, when in doing so you destroy the major reason why the person wears that particluar material in the first place!
But I am not saying that this new material has no market. People in Siberia would love a fabric that can both keep them warm and yet take no liquid stains. It is hard to wash clothes when water freezes in the outside air! Let us also not forget cosmonauts and mountaineers. And the potential for safety clothing with such material is enormous. Yet happily, none of the uses mentioned in this paragraph will directly effect any cotton growers, be they rich or poor, be they African or otherwise! Perhaps it is the "best of all possible worlds" after all.
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Monday 15th November 2004ad
In no way could I manage going to a Concert tonight. Fortunately, by courtesy of ABC-FM, we were able to hear by live broadcast, Sarah Macliver sing songs by Jean Sibelius and Edvard Grieg. This I enjoyed mostly, whilst the Three Budgies enjoyed it even more. This species of small parrot does, after all, perceive Music in an Intensity which is quite beyond my capabilities. And I am surely more determined, in this regard, than most non-Musicians.
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Sunday 14th November 2004ad
I found a long white feather this morning, in the street, just up the hill from where I live. It is clearly a flight feather of a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.
These birds are common in this area. Yesterday I saw one sitting on a fourth floor balcony, near where I found the feather. It was having a quiet chat with a Budgie in a cage there.
b Australian Chamber Orchestra [ACO] - "" At the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Director from the Violin by Richard Tognetti. ............................................................................ This is the final ACO subscription concert for the year. And this concert means two Baroque concerts in eight days. I can handle this; no sweat! [1] Georg Handel - Concerto Grosso in G Major, Opus 6 Number 1. Thus we begin, almost identically, with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra [ABO] concert of 6th November 2004. Same composer. Same musical format. Same opus. But number one, rather than number two. Again superbly played, and the two works, while distinct, are certainly similar enough to make comparison. The ABO played their Concerto Grosso, in what seems to me to be a more strictly baroque form, whereas the ACO tended to heighten both the colour and the changes of pace, seemingly in an attempt to give the "flavour" of this kind of Baroque work to a 21st century audience, in a way that they can more appreciate its essential essence. Myself? I am perfectly content with either approach. In music, there are oft a number of different thoroughfares, to the same essential idea, which are equally valid. This concept goes beyond music to other spheres. Even to chess. Albeit, not if you are forced to concede defeat, which happens all too unfortunately often to me. [2] Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto in E Flat for Violin, RV 253. As with the ABO concert, the ACO now continued with Vivaldi, the "Red Priest". This work is a real exhibition of Baroque technique & ornamentation, which Vivaldi no doubt scored with himself in mind. "La tempeste de mare" indeed! Helena Rathbone was able to superbly perform the solo, which struck my ears as a very difficult demand. It struck my eyes too, as her hands had to move with a rigourous activity to meet the score's demand. [3] Henry Purcell - Chacone. A very different work. I have this on CD, recorded by the Richard Hickox Orchestra. It is beautiful work. Loose limbed, melodius and sublime. Well performed tonight too. [4] Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto in G Minor for Two Cellos, RV 531. This is as different a Concerto to the earlier one, as is possible with Vivaldi, if we admit, au contraire to Stravinsky, that Vivaldi really did write 500 concertos and not one concerto 550 times. Cellos have a naturally melancholy sound, as opposed to the native cheerfulness of the Violin, and Vivaldi has created a very introspective, mystical work. And yes, it was excellently played tonight by the the ACO. As was the entire concert from start to finish; and one would have been surprised, if it were otherwise! So I will not be boring and repetitive, by repeating this same truth after each work. Take it as read: the entire concert was, from the very first note, to the very last note, an exhilarating experience! [5] Arcangelo Corelli - Concerto Grosso in F Major, Opus 6, number 2. After interval, we rebegin with another Concert Grosso, this time by the great Corelli, who influenced amongst others, Georg Handel, whom we met in the concert vanguard. To compare the two works, Corelli goes for more little flourishes of ornamentation that Handel does. This may be a consequence of writing for an Italian, rather for than an English audience. [6] Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto in B Minor for Four Violins. Vivaldi, pehaps becoming bored with having to write a couple of concerti each week, tried almost every conceivable combination. Four violins as soloist, in the times BV, before Vivaldi, would have been four Violins playing the same scoring: a Concerto Grosso. But Vivaldi scores each Violin soloist differently, yet they are almost equal; the only difference being that one and two get slightly longer and more difficult solos than three and four. But it is not just each Violin playing a solo in turn. At oftentimes there are short ideas, which are gaily tossed from Violin to Violin, developing as they go. So all the soloists must display great teamwork, as well as acute personal technique. it is an astonishing and compelling work! [7] Johann Sebastian Bach - Concerto For Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043. The very same composition which was performed third, by ABO in their concert of 6th November 2004. As I said then: "Bach has this exquisite way of combining two Violins to make them sound as if they were but one instrument." And while Vivaldi was a major influence on J.S. Bach, the differences are profound. Antonio Vivaldi is a mass of exuberance, interspaced with quiet periods of introspection, which never last very long. He noticeably writes fast movements, which are rather longer than his slow movements! Johann Sebatian Bach is all melodious restraint, within a web of counterpoint control. There is technical flair; there are heights of joy; there are lulls of quietescence. But as the music sifts through one's mind, there is a sense that Bach has every last point of musical notation exactly where he wants it to be, exactly where it aught to be. Breaking my earlier vow, for the obvious reason, I will merely say that I feel no need to compare the two performances of this J.S. Bach Concerto For Two Violins, by the ABO and the ACO. For me, it is enough to say that each seemed right on the night; and as I listened, enraptured, I had no cause for complaint. Hierachical numerical pecking orders, such as the obscene top 40 pop charts of crass mediocracy, have no essential meaning! [Éncore] Antonio Vivaldi - Slow Movement of Spring, The Four Seasons. Richard Tognetti said, after the applause kept demanding they return to the stage once more, that the ACO does not prepare éncores, but... As he went on to explain, in this arrangement of theirs, all the Violins play the solo part, whilst the Cellos and Violas have the "drudgery of accompaniment". This comment, no doubt, has its seeds in the truity, that in an Orchestra of Virtuosos, as the ACO certainly is, it does seem ironic, that a musician capable of great intricacy, must, at times, merely bow back and forth with a handlful of easily fingered chords, which any capable amateur could do with equal finesse. This would especially be so if the musician has a Cello in her arms. b |
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Sunday 14th November 2004ad
I found a long white feather this morning, in the street, just up the hill from where I live. It is clearly a flight feather of a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.
These birds are common in this area. Yesterday I saw one sitting on a fourth floor balcony, near where I found the feather. It was having a quiet chat with a Budgie in a cage there.
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Saturday 13th November 2004ad
A disenervating fatigue floored me today.
Hardly was I able to move or do anthing at all.
My most achievement was to read Chapters 25 & 26 of Jane Austen's "Sense And Sensibility". This was very enjoyable, but hardly the pinnacle of activity. And I did read these two chapters rather slowly.
Earlier, in the middle morning, I had finally watched & listened to the Jethro Tull 25 Years Anniversary DVD ["A New Day Yesterday"]. Enjoyable, except that the "full songs" were all cut off at the end. Fortunately for my temper, these tracks appeared in full as the bonus tracks.
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Friday 12th November 2004ad
Just beyond noon today, I established the source of my severe hayfever. It is a species of low growing tree, with black barked multiple trunks, and a broad low canopy which is very spreading. At this time of year it is covered in small white flowers with a distinctive perfume, which is neither particularly pleasant nor unpleasant.
As I passed 190 Pacific Highway in Waverton, I had noticed that, near its boundary with 60 Crows Nest Road, there was an unusually large and healthy tree of this kind. The scent smelled familiar to that, which I have often noticed at Saint Leonards when my hayfever was worst, although I knew not which plant was the culprit. So I pulled a branch towards me and took two sniffs of the flowers. The scent, though hardly strong, seemed like it well could be the one. To be sure, I took two more sniffs, which convinced me it was the scent in question.
Then I continued down Crows Nest Road. I had only walked past two houses, which hardly took half a minute, when I broke down with severe coughing and choking, sinuses running profusely, and it took several minutes before I could continue on my way. At which point, my eyes starting watering profusely, leaving a slight sediment which was very annoying, especially as I could not manage to wipe it off. Only, when I almost was at the other end of Crows Nest Road, was I able to wash it off under a tap.
On the way, I noticed another of these trees, although much smaller, at 39 Crows Nest Road, near the boundary with 37 Crows Nest Road. Past the tap, I saw two more small specimens of these trees. One was at 20 McKye Street, near the boundary with the vacant site at 24 McKye Street; and a second was at 18 McKye Street, near the boundary with 16 McKye Street. I sniffed no more flowers, instead holding my breath as I passed.
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s Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO] - Sibelius Cycle Conductor = Vladimir Ashkenazy. f Finlandia. Beginning with "Finlandia" is fair enough, as it is Jean Sibelius' best known early work. However, it is the one composition of his that I have always had problems with. He seems, to me, to be working the Finnish Nationalism too hard. Symphony Number One. This is an excellent work, and a very good way to start a career of Symphonic composition. It is scored for the traditional late 19th century Romantic Orchestra, with Harp, a full Brass ensmble and a range of Drums. Symphony Number Two. Unlike Mahler, Sibelius reduces the size of the orchestra, with the Harp & non-Timpani percussion disappearing. But that is just a technical aside, of no great import. The astonishing thing is the structure of the Symphony, especially the First Movement, which is so idiosynchratic & radical, it amazes me that it holds together at all, with any sense of harmony. Indeed, if one is just listening to this work as background, it may not seem in anywise unusual. It is only when one plays close attention, that it is possible to comprehend the extraordinary feats of composition which have been set in pen to paper. <<<<<<<-A->>>>>>> The SSO played these works with great expertise, and the conducting of Vladimir Ashkenazy, whom I have long admired greatly, was likewise. However, the applause was rather overdone, not in its appreciation of tonight's work, but rather in comparison with previous SSO performances, which were equally fine, but received rather less prolongued clapping. s |
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Thursday 11th November 2004ad
Yesterday I bought the Jethro Tull "A New Day Yesterday" DVD, which is their 25th Anniversary from 1994. I could not play it yesterday, as it was the Budgie's Opera Night [on 2MBS-FM]. Tonight, I am too tired.
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Wednesday 10th November 2004ad
At the top end of Crows Nest Road, just after midday, I saw some reckless Skinks on a paved area. There were four males, each of whom had a mouth-hold on the body of a single female. As I watched, two males gave up, but the other two persisted. This was all played out under bright sunlight, in a place quite far, for a Skink, from shelter.
I left them to it and continued to the apex of the street, where I crossed and then returned down the other side of Crows Nest Road. On the grass verge, almost directly opposite where I had seen the Skink courtship frenzy, there was a solitary Magpie Currawong, standing there with a single dead Skink in its beak.
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Tuesday 9th November 2004ad
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Red Flowering Gum Update: .Flower One - The cap has fallen off. The scarlet filaments are now fully displayed. .Flower Two - The cap is just beginning to fall away. .The
two above are on the same branch. But there are several
dozen buds on this & other .And
this, despite this "tree" being a rather
stunted and dishevelled sapling, which at no ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, |
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Monday 8th November 2004ad
I resolved today, to refer to the following creatures thus:
George Bush Junior = The Anti-Christ.
John Howard = The Anti-Christ's Pet Poodle.
[nb. The above is John Howard the
talentless Australian Prime Minister,
not John Howard [no relation] the talented Australian Actor!]
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Sunday 7th November 2004ad
After many weeks of budding, the first flower of my Red Flowering Gum, began to bloom. This occurs when the bud cap starts to fall off, revealing the scarlet filaments to the light.
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Saturday 6th November 2004ad
b Australian Brandenburg Orchestra [ABO] - "Brandenburg 2" At the City Recital Hall in Angel Place. Director [from Baroque Violin] - Manfredo Kraemar. ............................................................................ This is the final ABO subscription concert for the year. There were three works on either side of the interval. The whole programme lasted two hours, including the interval. [1] Georg Handel - Concerto Grosso, Opus 6 Number 2, HMW 320. Sure, Handel used to churn out these Concerti Grossi, as if it were a production line. But he was still able to produce at very least: competent, listenable work, and often very good work. This evening's example was most definitely worth hearing. [2] Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto For Two Trumpets in C Major, RV 537. This is a favourite of mine! The Trumpet is a naturally cheerful instrument; this especially so with a Composer like Vivaldi; and, to adapt Chopin's comment: the only thing more cheerful than one Trumpet is two Trumpets. But, while this work is tricky enough for a Keyed Trumpet, it is hellish for Natural Trumpets, which were what was used tonight. A few critical moments there were, but the soloists, Pascal Geay & Leanne Sullivan, came through with glory in the end, and no doubt relief! [3] Johann Sebastian Bach - Concert For Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043. This is also a marvellous work, which was superbly expounded by the Orchestra with & as soloists. Bach has this exquisite way of combining two Violins to make them sound as if they were but one instrument. [4] Charles Avison - Concerto Number Nine in C Major. This Newcastle-upon-Tyne composer was a student of Geminiani, but for his composition he adapted the works of Scarlatti. But he ran into a little trouble. Scarlatti wrote three movement Concertos, but Avison wrote four movement Concertos, as that is what his North English audience wanted. So Avison at first adapted slow movements from other Scarlatti Concertos, but soon, as that in tonight's performance, Avison wrote the slow movements completely by himself. [5] Antonio Vivaldi
- Concerto For Two Violins And Cello in D Minor, This is a characteristic Vivaldi Concerto, and certainly none the less enjoyable for that. While there is a "formula" for the composition, there is still considerable variety in the way that three solo instruments are combined. It is a composition I had not heard before, but would gladly hear again. [6] Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto Number 2 in F Major, BWV 1047. This is an extraordinary concept. The four Baroque solo instruments are Violin, Recorder, Oboe & Trumpet. These have not only varying natural loudnesses, but almost as utterly different kinds of sounds as you can get into four instruments. To be able to weld a coherent & magnificent whole out of such problematical starting equipment, is sheer genius indeed! Beutifull executed tonight it was too; with the thunderous applause confirming that I was not alone in such thoughts! b |
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Friday 5th November 2004ad
Butterflies may be free for some,
but not if you be a hungry Dragonfly.
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Thursday 4th November 2004ad
m Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO] - Mozart Series. Ludwig Van Beethoven: Rondino A very early work. He apparently wrote this Wind Octet in Bonn, then revised it in Vienna. To me at least, it shows a clear influence from Mozart. Yet it differs significantly. The way that Beethoven moves the lead between the instruments - two pair each of Oboes, Clarinets, French Horns and Bassons - is masterful. A charming and delightful work, very capable performed by the SSO Octet. Wofgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 Wonderful, but unusual work. The middle "quiet movement" is almost as fast and furious as the two fast movements. Beautifully performed by on Piano and the SSO in Chamber Mode. Piotr Tchaikovsky: Souvenir of Florence. This work is for String Orchestra, in four movements. To my mind these seemed to represent Florence in morning rush hour; afternoon siesta; early evening rush hour; evening's entertainment. The scoring is remarkable; as to how Tchaikovsky obtains such an astonishing array of colour and variationfrom just strings. The audience response began with such intensity, that the first few collective claps thundered forward to the stage with dramatic sound like a shot from a gun, but louder and more intense! <<<<<<<B-M-T>>>>>>> N.B. The audience applause of the SSO Mozart Series at Angel Place has its own especial charcter. It is not prolongued, but has an energetic short, sharp intensity! It is unique and most memorable experience. m |
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Wednesday 3rd November 2004ad
With this David Bowie compilation CD [bought weekend before last], I am able to indulge myself in my old passion for "Suffragette City". As I am indeed doing now!
"Aaaaah, wham bang thank you Ma'am".
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Tuesday 2nd November 2004ad
I will say naught of nags.
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Monday 1st November 2004ad
According to the "Roman Calendar", which I copied from the World Wide Web some years ago, these ancient Romans regarded November as a lucky month. This is why it is almost free of religious obligation.
In ancient Rome, religious obligation was closely linked to avoiding disaster.
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Sunday 31st October 2004ad
The Chess Olympiad has ended in Majorca. Australia did unusually well, including a 2.5 - 1.5 win over Romania; and a 2 - 2 draw with England in the penultimate round.
Our team was: Ian Rogers IGM; Daryl Johansen IGM; Stephen Solomon IM; Gary Lane IM; Zhou Zong Yuan IM; David Smerdon IM.
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Saturday 30th October 2004ad
Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the evening, at the Sydney Opera House. Under the baton of Markus Stenz, they performed Berg's Violin Concerto, with soloist Viviane Hagner, & Mahler's 10th Symphony. I had had doubts beforehand; this was the last addition to my 2004 subscription, which I booked last January. It was almost an afterthought.
Yet I was pleasantly surprised that the Berg was lyrical; while the Mahler was not pompous!
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Friday 29th October 2004ad
What a day! After work, I had three "events", which took me close to midnight.
[1] A meeting in Saint Leonards, which had me crossing & re-crossing the harbour once more.
[2] An Art Exhibition in the Rocks, "collective consciousness" at the SCDA Spectrum Gallery, which included two works by a friend of mine, Helen Harmer. And I was impressed by her two works, which I had not seen before.
[3] A play in Newtown, directed by Roz Riley. This was "When She Danced" by Martin Sherman, which is about the quite contradictory Isadora Duncan. I liked the play, but am still not convinced by Isidora herself.
At the end, closing on midnight, I was utterly exhausted, having been on my feet for 20 hours with only 2 minutes rest. Not good for someone with Chronic Low Blood Pressure.
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Thursday 28th October 2004ad
Maxentius has this day as his claim to an idiosynchratic fame. He was otherwise of no especial distinction.
On 28th October 306 Anno Domini, Maxentius became Roman co-Emperor.
On 28th October 312 Anno Domini, Maxentius drowned at the Milvian Bridge.
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Wednesday 27th October 2004ad
On ABC TV tonight was Part One of "The Sontaran Experiment". This is a two part Doctor Who story of the Tom Baker Era. I like Sontarans, as they have a most memorable excessive obese ugliness. The Sontaran here is Field-Major Styre. As I recall, in the second part of this story, he proved to have a well toned repetoire of pointed and demeaning abuse.
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Tuesday 26th October 2004ad
It is depressing having so much sleep, but still feeling an endless fatigue!
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Monday 25th October 2004ad
This evening I played for the Budgies pleasure: "Australian Bird Calls - Tropical North East". This CD contains David Stewart's recording of 83 different species from that region.
Personally I find this CD a bit monotonous. But they find it rivetting!!
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Sunday 24th October 2004ad
Today I am playing the CDs that I bought yesterday: David Bowie 1969-1974 [ten dollars]; The Beatles - Abbey Road [fifteen dollars]; Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn [ten dollars]. The prices make it possible for me to buy them, but how can such small financial returns sustain a recording music industry?
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I hear that the Opposition Leader in Australia, Mark "Liability" Latham, has by considerable & determined arm twisting, managed to rescue Simon "Spineless" Crean's position in the Shadow Cabinet. Latham no doubt sees this as "loyalty"; but this is surely "I am staying with Adolf Hitler in the bunker" type loyalty.
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Saturday 23rd October 2004ad
At ~8.30am, I started to seriously teach Wolfgang the concept of "self", as it is defined by those mirror loving Animal Psychologists.
Firstly, I showed him a small mirror and repeated the following procedure many times. I pointed at him and said "Wolfgang", then at his reflection and said "Wolfgang".
Then not long after, I carried his cage across to the mirror on my hatstand, so he could see my reflection with his reflection. As I was holding the cage, I could not point. But I talked to him, telling him it was his reflection beside mine. At one point, I could see he was clearly looking pointedly at me with his left eye wide open, which means his right eye was fixed on the reflections in the mirror. At other times, he was carefully watching his reflection while he moved: putting one foot on the side of the cage, or hopping on a perch, or dancing up and down one of the long perches.
Next I took Wolfgang & cage, back to where he is normally positioned beside the others. I let him have some hours peace, before repeating both steps in the early afternoon, and again in the early evening.
The question is: what he understands this image in the mirror to be?
[1] At no point did he call to his reflection, or make any vocalisation at all. He did not, except at first, show fear of his reflection.
[2] However, he showed signs of some nervousness. He took intense interest in his reflection. Also, he slept much more in the evening than usual, and he did look tired. - This suggests that his brain had been working hard trying to understand this phenomenon.
I will persist with this education of Wolfgang Razorbeak. A challenge is good for him.
This will be covered on my Budgie-Bird Foibles Page.
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Friday 22nd October 2004ad
Tomorrow is the anniversary of a very famous English Battle.
Edgehill [in Warwickshire] - 23rd
October 1642.
This Battle was the first Major Conflict
of the English Civil War.
To Download Calligraphic 421 BT Font - used above - Click Here
This involved 14,000 Royalists facing a roughly equal force of Parliamentarians.
It began with an hour long artillery duel. The infamous softening up.
Then, when Prince Rupert of the Rhine lead the Cavalry on the Royalist right forward, Sir Faithful Fortescue changed sides from Parliament to the King! This, needless to say, left the remaining Parliamentary Cavalry on their left, under Sir James Ramsey, in an impossible position. Understandably they fled, pursued by Rupert's force. On the other side of the battlefield, Royalist Henry Wilmot likewise put his opponents to flight. It should have been the end of the Battle.
But all this Calvary vanished from the battlefield, pursuers and pursued, which left the Parliamentarians with a Cavalry advantage! They had two more Horse Regiments, under Balfour & Stapleton, positioned behind their Infantry, while the King, for quite some time, had none! So a brutal hand to hand conflict ensued, which was in the balance for a long time, with the Royalists taking somewhat the worst of it. The return of Wilmot with some of his force determined that the day ended in stalemate.
This folly of the disappearing Royalist Cavalry was to be repeated many times. If Rupert & Wilmot had have cut their pursuit early, Edgehill would have proved a Major Royalist Victory. Charles Stuart could have continued his march towards London, and English Civil War may well have been over before it began.
[I am indebted to "British Battles -
The Front Lines Of History In Colour Photographs"
by Ken & Denise Guest*. This is a most excellent and
informative coffee table book.]
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Thursday 21st October 2004ad
I have been taking note of the continuing Senate count from the Australian election of 9th October. In Queensland, the National Party vote has been slipping continuously since last Monday. Yet they are still assuming that their candidate, Barnaby Joyce has won, and with that, the Coalition has control of the Senate from next July, which is when the new Senate first sits. With the Hare-Clarke system, one should never "count one's chickens before they hatch". The Nationals may still win, but it may also be a win for One Nation or The Greens.
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Wednesday 20th October 2004ad
"The quality of mercy is not
strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven"
William Shakespeare even predicted sydney's weather today.
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Tuesday 19th October 2004ad
Vale Laszlo Vidak.
Laszlo I had spoken to fairly often in recent years, but only short conversations in passing. He was fairly elderly, and I knew that his health was not good. But still, when I learnt today he had recently died, it was a shock.
I liked him very much. He was a good man.
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Monday 18th October 2004ad
It is raining. It must be Sydney.
Goat Island looked quite delightful in the misty morning drizzle.
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Sunday 17th October 2004ad
Neville's Cross - 17th October
1346.
At this Ancient Stone Cross
on the Eastern side of Durham City.
To Download Calligraphic 421 BT Font - used above - Click Here
David II, King of Scotland, took advantage of the absence of Edward Plantagent III, who was visiting France, taking the scenery at various places including Crécy. The Scot invaded with an army of 15,000. He marched up the River Wear, past Chester-Le-Street, to observe "700 men at arms supported by 10,000 archers and hobilars"*. The English were under the command of Sir Ralph de Neville, Sir Henry de Percy and the Archbishop of York, and were arrayed along the ridge top, at the Neville's Cross by the City of Durham.
It was a steep ascent from the valley up to the ridge; so steep that the Scottish horse had to dismount to attack. David's order to charge up this slope into a hail of arrows, was foolish indeed. His army proved brave, but inevitably broke when they could endure no more, abandoning their King to capture.
The one really sane Scot was Earl Patrick, who was chosen to lead the vanguard. But when he saw what they faced, he successfully requested to lead the rearguard instead. It would be interesting to know what actual words he used.
[I am indebted to "British Battles -
The Front Lines Of History In Colour Photographs"
by Ken & Denise Guest*. This is a most excellent and
informative coffee table book.]
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Saturday 16th October 2004ad
I bought a second BBC DVD of Shakespeare. This time King Lear, from 1982, with Michael Hordern in the title role, and Jonathan Miller directing. Most excellent!
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Friday 15th October 2004ad
A slow claw back of electorates. Contrary to earlier expectations, Labor has won the Liberal seats of Adelaide and Parramatta. The National fiefdom of Larry Anthony looks a probable gain as well. But the Senate is too early to predict with any surety.
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Thursday 14th October 2004ad
I know this is the anniversary of something that ocurred at the Village of Battle, which is quite close to the Town of Hastings. But being a Saxon, I prefer to ignore this.
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Wednesday 13th October 2004ad
I have decided to change the original Latin name of my country, from "Terra Australis Incognito" to "Terra Australis Incogitans". That is "Thoughtless Southern Land", rather than "Unknown Southern Land".
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Tuesday 12th October 2004ad
The Sun rose above the Dover Heights, as the train crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I could look straight at the red globe, without fear to my sight, as its early fire was so obscured by the burnt sienna pollution haze, swept out to sea.
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Monday 11th October 2004ad
Winceby - English Civil War -
11th October 1643.
"Winceby, a small upland Hamlet, in the Wolds, not amomg the
Fens,
of Lincolnshire, is some five miles west of Horncastle" - in
"Winceby Fight",
Part II, page 170, "Cromwell's Letters & Speeches"
- Thomas Carlyle.
To Download Calligraphic 421 BT Font - used above - Click Here
The Vanguard of Parliamentarian Cavalry, under a certain Oliver Cromwell, charged at the Royalist Dragoons under Sir William Widdrington, at Winceby. His horse was shot under him, but Cromwell crawled out from under it, mounted a new horse and resumed the charge, routing the enemy with his leadership. It was at Winceby that Oliver Cromwell first established his fame.
According to Oliver Cromwell, the lane down which the "chase" occurred after this battle, was afterwards named "Slash Lane".
[I am indebted to "British Battles -
The Front Lines Of History In Colour Photographs"
by Ken & Denise Guest. This is a most excellent and
informative coffee table book.]
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Sunday 10th October 2004ad
This afternoon I was at the Goëthe Institute in Woollahra, for the last Schubertiad for the year. This was with chamber/ensemble works of the "young" Schubert, plus one from Beethoven. One of the Schubert works unusually includes Flute, Guitar, Viola & Cello. "Young" Schubert is surely an oximoron, as he died in his thirties.
The Beethoven work, which was the finale, is for Flute, Violin & Viola. It makes me wonder as to why Beethoven did not write a Flute Concerto, as he handles Flute composition so well.
I was almost late, but glad I made it, as the music cheered my soul. This, despite G.R.'s clear aversion to me, which I do not reciprocate, and do my best to just ignore, limiting my emotional response to merely thinking the less of him.
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Saturday 9th October 2004ad
When I was voting this morning, a woman in front of me in the queue, read the brief statement from JH on the Liberal how to vote card, then looked for one on the Labor card, but could not find it. This she repeated several times.
"Hmmm". I thought. So this is how the election is being decided today. Well then, Australians deserve everything they will get.
The production of Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutti" this afternoon, by the Conservatorium Of Music students, was wonderful! So when I returned home, I kept away from the media and all news. I just had dinner and went to bed.
I woke up at 10.40pm with these thoughts, and decided they were worth leaving the comfort of my bed to write down. But they will not be webposted until tomorrow.
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Mid-morning: I was in the Botanic Gardens at Sydney's Farm Cove.
[1] - The "Titan Arum" I saw, but did not smell. This was because the tropical glass pyramid was not yet open, and I was looking through the external glass wall. This was fine by me, as it is the Titan Arum's reputation as the world's largest flower which interests me; not its reputation of having the World's most unpleasant floral odour.
It most be all of two metres to the top of that long pale yellow phallic stalk, with its sponge-like appearance; which rises dramatically from the bulbous flower base with its large, inspid coloured purple petals, which are a more pleasant green at their base.
It is very large forsooth! Yet, it is also a remarkably ugly flower. But then, perhaps the flesh eating flies which pollinate it, are not aesthetically inclined.
[2] - In between my two viewings of the above, I wandered through the gardens; saw how tall the Wollemia [Conifer] has become; but most impressively, I saw a "Pearl White Butterfly". These are indigenous to North Queensland, where their caterpillars feed exclusively on the leaves of the "Native Pomegranite". There are only two mature Native Pomegranites in Sydney, growing side by side in these gardens. Since 1885, there has been a colony of the Pearl White Butterflies on these two trees. The caterpillars feed on the leaves, while the adults will take nectar from various flowers. But they never stray more than about twenty metres from these two trees. So while this is the rarest colony of Pearl White Butterflies, ironically, it is one of the easiest places to see them. I know that I have seen these before, but I had missed the sign with the remrkable explanation, until today. It pays to read.
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6.40am - The point with the Kennett Victorian State defeat of the previous decade, is that the economics had been well managed, but there was considerable discontent with his style of government. So this created a split decision in the minds of many voters. Hence the unusually high "undecided" figure in the opinion polls.
So this same split decision, for the exact same reason, would seem to be driving the equally high "undecided" figure in the opinion polls, for today's Australian Commonwealth election.
The only question, is to whether the "undecided" will decide the same way today, as they did with Kennett. Or whether they will choose differently. It is difficult to read the collective mind, when it desires strongly not to be read. And I do not think this is, as one commentator put it, because Australians are not interested in politics. It is rather a consequence of our cynical and distrusting nature, which is the characteristic quality of Australians.
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Friday 8th October 2004ad
During a phonecall with my father this evening, he read to me from a Brisbane newspaper, that the "undecided" in recent opinion polls in several Queensland marginal electorates ranged from 16% to an astonishing 23%. This is in polls conducted no more than a week before polling day, which is tomorrow.
So, it is hardly an exaggeration to suggest that at least 10% of the population may well decide their vote on the day. An "undecided" voter can, in the end, cast their vote in any feasable way, or even just destroy the ballot paper! And different voters will come to different decisions. Perhaps it all will cancel out. Perhaps instead the "undecided" voters will incline in a stream one way or the other.
But logic would suggest that a Governement which has been in power for the best part of a decade, will have more to fear than an opposition, from an unusually high "undecided" figure, in polls so close to the election itself.
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Thursday 7th October 2004ad
The unit of power generation in Indonesia is the Megawati.
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Today I actually stroked Deadcat, behind the ears and then under the chin. He moved his head, but did not move his feet at all when I was there. He just sat the whole time on the pavement outsdie 5 Crows Nest Road in Waverton.
His fur is of very fine strands, and is beautifully clean.
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Wednesday 6th October 2004ad
At 10.58am I saw a Crow flying swiftly from west to east across Herbert Street in Saint Leonards. It was closely followed by a Noisy Miner, which is only a tiny fraction of the size of the Crow. The small bird was flying only a few centimetres at the base of the back of the Crow's neck, and squawking loudly at the Crow the whole time.
It was certainly design to infuriate and I am sure it did.
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Tuesday 5th October 2004ad
The 44B Bayswater Road Pigeon roost is no more. In earlier weeks, the demolishers had knocked down all of this building, except just part of the front wall, where the Pigeons not only roosted on a ledge, but had moulded nesting holes in the hollows behind the eaves.
But today at some stage, the final nemesis of 44B had happened. The demolishers appear to have taken the timber area of the eaves apart by hand, before knocking over the brick wall beneath the eaves. I was impressed by the care they had taken not to hurt the Pigeons, which are after all, an exotic animal which is regarded by many as a pest.
Around dusk today, the Pigeons were showing a great deal of annoyance, none the less. They were flying across the ruins, then landing on nearby walls, turning their heads to look at the now non-building with one eye, then the other, then the first again, and so on. One landed in a nearby dead tree, at the point of a broken branch, to be evicted by another Pigeon. But soon they both flew off. These determined birds seemed to be trying to will their favourite roost back into existence.
The dozen or so former residents finally took to a high ledge on a building, which is next to the the pile of rubble. There was much squabbling here, both from re-establishing pecking order, and general annoyance and stress.
[See also 28th September 2004]
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Monday 4th October 2004ad
I now know where the idea for Australian Rules Football came from.
In a Plunkett Street Park in Woolloomooloo, I saw several dozen pigeons eating large bread crumbs. To break up such a crumb, a Pigeon grabs it with its beak, and gives a quick head toss. A bite size piece remains in the beak, while the rest goes elsewhere. There were white bread morsals shooting in all directions. One spectacular effort travelled two metres straight up. It did indeed look uncannily like a game of Australian Rules.
Plunkett Street I passed through as I was returning from my first visit to the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf. I walked right to the end of the wharf and back, which is a fair distance.
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Sunday 3rd October 2004ad
This morning, I bought yesterday's Canberra Times, which has an opinion poll for the electorate of Eden-Monaro, which covers the coast & hinterland of New South Wales, southwards from Canberra. This poll shows that, even without factoring in the "undecided" voters, the Liberal party sitting member, Garry Nairn, should win comfortably.
However, the "undecided" respondents totalled a very significant 20% of the total survey. So, in other marginal electorates where the result is very much in the balance*, if the "undecided" figure is anywhere close to this, which seems a reasonable surmise, the election is yet to be decided. It would not be surprising if many of these "undecided" do not decide, until the morning of next saturday's election, or even when they hold that ballot paper in front of them, pen or pencil in hand. But I repeat my refrain of last wednesday, can they really not know how they regard John Howard, after all these years?
[*If I recall correctly, an opinion poll last week, covering all the expected marginal electorates around Australia, showed the Government with a preferred party lead of 1.5%. Compared to this, the same poller had the preferred party vote for all Australia, favouring the Opposition by 1.5%. As Alan Ramsey put it in last saturday's Sydney Morning Herald, the Government must then by losing a lot of votes somewhere.]
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The chess part of my mind has been AWOL! I struggled in small parts, over two days, to complete the four correspondence chess games where I knew the move, as in each case it was the only move really available. So the other three games, where I had to find the move, were just an incoherent blur of confusion. But when, late this evening, I had finally enveloped those four games; I looked once more at the other three, and the moves required took concrete form out of the mists of indecision. So my mental chess function had finally clicked into action.
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Saturday 2nd October 2004ad
This afternoon I saw the "Chinese Silks" exhibition at the New South Wales Art Gallery with Helen H. The work involved in making the Silk clothing, banners and badges is very impresive, while the artistic merit does not always match. However, a certain indigo blue surcoat, with three gold dragons coiled within circles, was ! Also exquisite was an uncut gown of the same indigo blue, with several gold dragons coiled with pale blue circles!
The obsession within the Ming & Qing courts, with semi-formal and formal, with categorised ranks of categorised officals, who also had their categorised wives, was really rather silly. The obsession with ostentacious display of wealth in the fabric, such as seed pearls sewn in for the colour white, likewise.
But they did make a most wonderful shade of indigo blue! Whether or not this is technically "indigo" - that is made from the precisely correct flower - it is a most marvelous colour!
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Friday 1st October 2004ad
It is the the first annual anniversary of water restrictions in Sydney.
As of the early evening, we have already had as much rain today, as we are supposed to get for the whole of October. The rain has not been that heavy, but in the coastal edge of Sydney, it began raining consistently about 7am, and chose not to stop. So after four hours of delivering mail, I had as much water in my boots as there is in the Warragamba Dam.
In Sydney it can rain on the coast, but disappear into cloudless skies before one reaches the Blue Mountains, which form a western barrier. But, as I heard on the news tonight, the rain was also solid in the mountains, albiet, not quite as solid as on the coast. It will help Sydney's water problem, but one day's rain does not fill a dam as capacious as the Warragamba.
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THE END IS NEAR
INDEED, IT IS HERE !!
©TONY SIMS, 2004ad - Text, Formatting & Ego.
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