another line of no particular meaning
There are Thoughts which come >>> And Thoughts which go >>>
And so ...
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ARCHIVE 12 20th November 2004 to 4th February 2005 |
Friday 4th February 2005ad
At 12.15pm I saw two of those large Butterflies, with black bordered blue-green wings. They appeared to be involved in a courting dance. This was at the purple flowering bush at 22 McHatton Street in Waverton, near the boundary with 18 McHatton Street. [See also My Thought of 2nd February 2005.]
<<<<<<<- The Avengers !! ->>>>>>>
On the way home from work, I was due to collect the CCLA mail from the GPO. From there I am prone to walk to Town Hall Railway Station. Today I had set myself to detour to JB Hi-Fi, to see if they had a DVD set, which I have for some weeks coveted. This is the complete seven disc edition of "The Avengers" TV series for 1967 [the first colour season]. I had mentally determined to buy it, if they had it, and it were still at $94.95 or close to it. It had been the case that it was on the shelf, when I was wary of spending money, but not when I was set on the purchase.
Today, they certainly had it! There were four sets in the "TV" section, and another three in the "New Releases" section. And the price was still at $94.95, which may seem a lot, but it contains the 24 x 50 minute episodes of the 1967 season, plus the initial 50 minute episode of the 1968 season, which was Mrs Emma Peel's farewell episode.
Excellent!!
But now I covet the 1966 season of "The Avengers", also John Steed & Emma Peel. However, it is not on the list of releases, presumably as it is in black & white. I await its release!
<<<<<<<-The Avengers !! ->>>>>>>
There was a "Callan" release in 2003, which was not on the shelf. But is this the early seasons with the delightfully viscious Toby Meares as one of Callan's fellow spies? Those are the "Callan" episodes which I covet.
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Thursday 3rd February 2005ad
So Grilled Rice says that the USA does not plan to invade Iran at "this point in time". It would be quite in character for that adminstration, if "this point in time" means while she is in Europe, talking to Government leaders who are possessed of some conscience.
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Wednesday 2nd February 2005ad
At noon, I saw one of those large Butterflies, with black bordered blue-green wings. It was at the purple flowering bush at 22 McHatton Street in Waverton, near the boundary with 18 McHatton Street.
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Tuesday 1st February 2005ad
... "Meet The Music" - The Sydney Sinfonia. 6.30pm at the City Recital Hall at Angel Place. ... |
...
... The Sydney Sinfonia [SS] is associated with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO], being composed of a mix of SSO members plus Conservatorium of Music students. This "Meet The Music" programme was actually an illustrated musical lecture by the SS Director, the articulate & entertaining Richard Gill. This I was quite unaware of beforehand. Firstly there was an international debut: "Aurorean Ritual". This is a short work by young Australian composer, Kirsty Beilharz. The SS played it through. Then Gill explained various points of the composition, partly with the use of the SS playing short extracts from various points, and partly through Gill himself on the piano. At the end, the entire work was played through once more. <<<<<<<- Richard Gill !!->>>>>>> Then there was the Second Movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Firstly it was explained in the same way; following which the Movement was played through in its entirety. Next it was the First Movement of the Beethoven's Sixth Symphony; likewise it was explained, then played. So, the programme took a little over an hour and a half; and it was, as I have said, highly entertaining. I gained a general understanding of the works, which allows me to better appreciate them, without yet being able to explain to anyone in words, as to exactly what I had learnt! Also, there were small points of intense interest to me, which I recall. That "Andante" originally meant "play evenly". Here Richard Gill demonstrated on the Piano, an early use of this by Johann Sebastian Bach, in one of his Fugues. This, he said, is what Jazz Double Bass players call a "Walking Bass". And he called on one of the Double Bass players to demonstrate the Walking Bass. There was also his point, that an immediate response to a work is usually: "I like it or I don't like it. That is not an opinion, it is a reaction." ... & he went on to add: "These people who say 'I don't like Opera'. Ask them which Operas they have seen." Other matters included: What the German Sixth Chord is, and that it is not known why it is so called; the different techniques of drawing the violin bow across the strings; how Monteverdi deeply upset the Cellists by asking them to play a rapid series of short chords. Above all, the key illumination to my mind was learning as to exactly how complex, and how original Beethoven could be in even a few bars. He seemed incapable of taking the easy path; always he took the challenging way!! ... |
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Monday 31st January 2005ad
This election in Iraq may have a limited effect. The new parliament has writing a new constitution as its main task. To come in to operation, this proposed constitution must not only pass a nationwide vote, but also must not lose in more than two of the eighteen provinces. As both the Kurds and the Sunnis form a majority in three provinces, this gives each of them a veto on the new constitution, assuming that their votes remain as disciplined as they have to date. Consequently, the new National Iraqi government will be weak, with the real power being decentralised. This is, of course, unless there is a coup d'etat.
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Sunday 30th January 2005ad
For the last week or so, I have developed a strongly increased interest, almost to the point of obsession, in Old English, Middle English, Old Scots [that is Germanic, not Gaelic] and Old Welsh. In short, the main post-Roman languages of Great Brittain. Indeed, I spent much of this morning downloading texts; attempting to bridge with written words that hiatus between Old & Middle English. And it is, as I hypothesised, much less than usually considered.
The Old English Chronicle continues to 1154 anno domini, the year of the death of King Stephen and the accession of Henry Plantagent. The earliest of the Middle English manuscripts which are held by the Libraries throughout England, is dated at ~1250 anno domini.
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Saturday 29th January 2005ad
At the end of a stint on the www; I quickly checked for new pictures on the NASA-JPL Planetary Photojournal. There were before and after pictures for the two Rovers, Spirit & Opportunity. Spirit's photos were from 11th January 2004 & 3rd January 2005. Opportunity's were from 16th February 2004 & 13th January 2005. The difference is dust; red dust. Spirit has suffered rather the worse.
This is not at all unexpected; nor is it not without consequence. The amount of electricity that the solar panels supply is naturally reduced, and will continue to be reduced. Still, a year gone and they continue to enlighten us.
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Friday 28th January 2005ad
Mr Mamdouh Habib is surely glad to be back in Australia; and probably regrets ever leaving. Government Ministers, such as Mr Ruddock & Mr Downer, have been uncharitable in the extreme; obviously unaware that under Australian Law, one is innocent, unless proven guilty. But in any case, the Ministers' outbursts are not driven by fear of what Habib may do, but what he may say about his experience.
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Thursday 27th January 2005ad
Titan I have not mentioned for a few days, and there is one point I should add: that the ESA have announced that the seas & lakes, rivers & streams of Titan are now "dry", or at least they were, in that hour and a half of Huygen's brief life. Certainly, in the case of the lakes & seas, this is more correctly: frozen. As evidence, I add that the mere comparitive heat of the Huygens Lander settling slowly on to the surface, was sufficient to melt the methane ice, causing methane springs. As the ESA maintain that methane has flowed down the stream & river beds recently, it seems that Titan, in Huygen's life, was in the midst of some kind of winter, or at minimum, a cold snap.
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Wednesday 26th January 2005ad
The Budgies had their Wednesday Night Opera early. This afternoon I played the triple CD of Georg Handel's "Semele", a live recording of the Pinchgut Opera performance. This they enjoyed, as I did, but not quite as much as when I saw it live.
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Tuesday 25th January 2005ad
I have developed this curious trait of playing DVDs & Videos, but hardly seeing the picture much, although I hear the sound, as I move about my home attempting to bring more order to it. This defies logic rather. But in my defense, I admit to being human.
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Monday 24th January 2005ad
After work, I walked from Wynyard Railway Station, along the ridge above The Rocks, before descending to the old wharves at Walsh Bay. There, I found that the Sydney Philharmonia Choir office was closed. So, I could not buy a three concert subscription. Such is life.
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Sunday 23rd January 2005ad
Titan, yet again!
Late last night, as I lay in bed listening to "Star Stuff", on ABC News Radio, I heard an interviewee talk about possible life on Titan, which uses liquid methane in its life processes, in the way that Earth life uses water. This is precisely what I wrote of yesterday. That more than one person should come up with this idea, independently, is hardly surprising.
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Saturday 22nd January 2005ad
Titan, once more!
Today I heard on the Science Show [ABC Radio National; 12.10pm to 1.00pm], that the European Space Agency is now concluding that liquid methane fills the role on Titan, which water fills on Earth. There are seas and lakes of liquid methane, which from their surfaces gradually evaporate into the sky, to fall as rain, and flow down streams & rivers into the lakes & seas once more. This is also further confirmation of the amazing continuity of the forms of physical geography from one planetary body to another, although the actual substances involved in these processes are very different, as are the surface temperatures.
<<<<<<<-Titan est trés bon!->>>>>>>
Now I would accept that the rain is Methane, and also largely the streams & rivers. However, I still would think that that the seas & lakes would collect and concentrate through time, a large enough portion of hydrocarbon "impurities" to be more of a crude oil; a light crude oil, but a crude oil none the less [see also Thursday 20th January 2004].
<<<<<<<-Titan est trés bon!->>>>>>>
That Titanic atmosphere. I have been reading some more background on atmospheres. Here we have to ignore a depleted atmosphere, like that of Mars, as many of the lighter molecules, such as Nitrogen, may have been lost, confusing the issue. This leaves only three atmospheres of rocky planetary bodies which have substantial atmospheres: Venus; Earth; Titan.
| Carbon Dioxide | Nitrogen | Oxygen | Methane | Argon | |
| Venus | 96% | 3.5% | nil | nil | 70ppm |
| Earth | 330ppm | 77% | 21% | 1.5ppm | 0.93% |
| Titan | 0.0015ppm | 82-99% | nil | 1-6% | 0-12% |
[from "The New Solar System" by J. Kelly Beatty & Andrew Chaiken, 1990 edition, page 93 & 191]
Comparing them, it is noticeable that Venus has a far lower Nitrogen level than the other two, and its Nitrogen would be all from inorganic sources, since not only is it far too hot for life now, it seems likely that, unlike Mars, it never was suitable for life.
With Titan there are two possiblities, which both are both educated guesses:
[1] As quoted by Jyri Näränen [see yesterday] where the atmosphere was originally Ammonia and the breakdown of this lead to the Nitrogen, with the Hydrogen presumably in part ending up in water ice & hydrocarbons, but this still leaves large amounts of Hydrogen being lost, which strongly suggests, for this idea to be right, that Titan's atmosphere was once much thinner for long periods.
[2] My idea, that there is a very strange kind of life on Titan, at least to our perceptions. It is Hydrocarbon based, but the liquid within the organisms is Methane rather than Water, it posssibly releases Methane as a waste*. Due to the very cold environment [-179ºC], the shortage of energy would mean that this life is mostly likely to be microscopic, very slow growing, and moving with the currents or tides, rather than under its own efforts. It would be hard to imagine that macroscopic life would evolve, and if it did it would be inconcievable that it would be intelligent. Even if they could develop the organic processes needed, how could these move fast enough without causing the liquid methane which they depend upon turning to gas, with fatal results.
But even with the painfully slow life processes that these microscopic life forms would rely on, over several thousand million years, this would still be enough for a large biomass of them to change the atmosphere to its current condition, and replenish the Methane.
There is also the question of where the primaeval Carbon Dioxide goes, which so dominates Venus' atmosphere. On Earth, it has been used up by life, the oxygen being the consequence. If that happened on Titan, where is the oxygen? Has it ended up in the organisms? Or has it been combined with Hydrogen to make Water Ice?
If this suggested life does exist on Titan, the life processes must be mysterious indeed.
<<<<<<<-Titan est trés bon!->>>>>>>
*Another point, which came from the Science Show today, is that the Methane must be continually replenished. This could come, however, merely from natural evaporation.
Also, the stones/boulders, which litter the surface of Titan near by the Huygens Lander, are apparently made of water ice. What a world Titan is: the water is the stones, while the methane is the seas!!
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Friday 21st January 2005ad
There is this Finnish webpage which I looked at, which was most informative. It "was done by Jyri Näränen as an exercise for the Finnish Summer School on Planetary Sciences 2002" [www.astro.helsinki.fi].
Amongst other things it said as follows:
Titan's atmosphere is unique in the solar system. It's nearest satellite competitor, Triton, has an atmosphere, that is less dense by a factor of 1Tit00 000. It's also the only other significant atmosphere, besides our own, which consists mainly of nitrogen. The question of where did it come from is still under debate. The leading theory is that Saturn is far enough from the sun so that Titan could have managed to hold on to an ammonia atmosphere which breaks up into nitrogen when introduced to sunlight or the shock effects of meteorite impacts or lightning. The amount of methane is much harder to explain because the solar winds in the early solar system should have cleared Titan of any methane. The leading theory is, that methane became frozen with water-ice as a material called 'clathrate'. These clathrates would have melted after 500 million years because of Titan's crustal reorientation, thus releasing the methane and letting the icy-rocky material form the frozen mantle of Titan. Photochemistry in
Titan's Atmosphere |
The point I take issue with is the source of all that Nitrogen. It does seem strange that only Earth and Titan have this high level of atmospheric Nitrogen. It would be stranger still if they arrived at this equvalent result in completely different ways. Not impossible of course, but it is highly improbable enough that one should consider the alternative where only the fearless or foolhardy would tread: the Nitrogen comes from life in Titan's methane seas.
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Thursday 20th January 2005ad
Very early this morning I awoke, & so I spent some time on the WWW, including Titan via the Huygens Lander. A press release from the European Space Agency stated that Huygens "had landed in Titanian 'mud'." Well good! There should now be no question as to there being lakes & seas of some "liquid" on Titan. The suggestion by someone, that these seas & lakes could have been "flat basalt flows", shows a profound ignorance of physical geology.
<<<<<<<-Titan est trés bon!->>>>>>>
Then tonight, I was referencing in a book - "The New Solar System" by J. Kelly Beatty & Andrew Chaiken, 1990 edition, page 191 - where the major constituents of Titan's atmosphere are given as Nitrogen 82-99%, Methane 1-6% & Argon [Ar] 1-12%; while the minor constituents include Hydrogen; the Hydrocarbons: Ethane, Proprane, Ethylene, Diacetylene & Methylactylene; the Nitrogen Compounds: Hydrogen Cyanide, Cyanogen & Cyanoacetylene; the Oxygen Compounds: Carbon Monoxide & Carbon Dioxide.
While this book is 15 years old, the data is still relatively cogent, except that the Nitrogen would be closer to 88% than 99%; the Methane closer to 6% than 1%; while the Argon, being inert, does not matter that much for my purposes.
So, as I am possessed of a logical train of thought, I concluded that the seas & lakes are effectively crude oil; & there must be a Titanian rain of this ilk, or thence, no rivers.
<<<<<<<-Titan est trés bon!->>>>>>>
I also concluded that there is masses of some kind of life, almost certainly microbial, existing in the seas, lakes, rivers & even ooze of Titan. The Earth is the only other planetary body with such a predominance of Nitrogen in its atmosphere, and it is well attested that Nitrogen is there, overwhelmingly, since it is a by-product of life, both microscopic & macroscopic.
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Wednesday 19th January 2005ad
A large Butterfly, with blue-green wings bordered in black, was near 9 McKye Street close to Noon. They are fairly common this time of year in Waverton. Last friday I saw one at the corner of King Street & Mckye Street at ~1pm. And a few days before that, one at the corner of King Street & Whatmore Street, at about the same time of day.
When I lived in Cremorne I used to see them thereabouts as well. But they are only fluttering around at mid-summer.
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Tuesday 18th January 2005ad
Those Titan boulders are just stones. The large ones were just 13cm to 15cm across.
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Monday 17th January 2005ad
Last saturday I finished Cassius Dio's "Life Of Augustus" which is a part of his "History" which is susposed to be of greatest importance for two reasons. Firstly because it survives almost entire. Secondly as it covers the reign of Augustus, which is otherwise not adequately covered. During the times when Augustus was Octavian, Cassius rather uncritically his propagnda; but once we reach the effective monarchy, he becomes critical but fair. One learns a lot about the processes of government; how Augustus adapted the Republican system to his autocratic ends, allowing a persistence of the old forms; and how, on many occasions, this absolute ruler felt the need to retreat before the will of the Senate, or the people.
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Sunday 16th January 2005ad
I saw "Dolphin Glide" today at the Orpheum in Cremorne. Actually there were three films. Firstly there was "The Making Of Dolphin Glide" which showed the highly inventive ways that George Greenough films. Then there was "The Coming Of Dawn", which George Greenough filmed in the late 1960s, in a very succesful attempt to show the non-surfer what the surfer sees when riding waves, and especially what it looks like to ride in the tube of a wave. Finally there was "Dolphin Glide" itself, in which Greenough shows one what it looks like to a Dolphin when it is surfing. They surf below the wave surface, where, as Greenough says, the energy of the wave is. The appearance is both familiar & unfamiliar; one can see all the topography of each wave, but when it breaks it falls above you, and the crash has no real physical effect.
Helen wanted to see more Dolphins, but I was happy to see dolphins only as much as a Dolphin sees Dolphins.
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Saturday 15th January 2005ad
From Huygens today so far, three black & white photos. The surface of Titan has this familiar appearance: photo one shows numerous boulders on a plain; photo two shows gullies draining in to a sea; while photo three shows several lakes in a hilly area.
We have been sending probes to the other planets for decades now, and usually an alien topography looks very familiar. Those lakes and seas on Titan are not of water, as its surface is far too cold for liquid water to exist. Yet a liquid lying on a solid, and flowing with a viscosity similiar to that of water on Earth, produces a similar topography.
As I have written before, about Mars, Venus, Europa, Io, Triton and other worlds:
The forces of Physical Geology working on equivalent materials produce equivalent results, irrespective of what the temperature is and what the actual materials are!
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Friday 14th January 2005ad
Better than a crash is a landing!
That is what happened tonight; rather late tonight, Eastern Australian Summer Time. Huygens has landed successfully on the surface of Titan, that large enigmatic Moon of Saturn. Seven years journey to get there, and then, due to the distance, the computers on the Huygens Lander & those on the Cassini Probe which launched it, must do all the work robotically. This they have done to perfection. Huygens is the product of the European Space Agency; Cassini is the product of NASA; while the antenna on Cassini is from the Italian Space Agency.
I have waited a long time for this moment & let out a cheer on hearing the news, which casued the three Budgies to look at me suspiciously.
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Thursday 13th January 2005ad
"Deep Impact" is a NASA space probe. Part of it will be crashed into a comet, at five times the speed of a bullet. The other part will take pictures of this. Boys will be boys!
I learnt this today, by way of the news. A surprise really, as I had thought that "Deep Impact" was the long awaited sequel to "Deep Throat".
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Wedesday 12th January 2005ad
Fasting for twelve hours is not a problem for me. But not consecutively.
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Tuesday 11th January 2005ad
Further regarding my 6th January Thought on the cool mid-summers in Sydney: Just to make it clear, the weather is not consistently cool. If the winds are from the north or west, then it is very warm or hot. The south westerly winds have always been of a lesser heat, as they come from both the south and off the sea.
What has happened for the last five years, is that these south-easterly winds have been much cooler than was the norm. In 2000 this "cool period" was not much more than a fortnight, but it has gradually extended until this year, it began in mid-December and continues as I write.
If further confirmation is required, as to this breakup of the Circum-Antarctic Current, one need look no further than those icebergs off New Zealand's South Island. These are more than just unseasonable. For over one hundred years they have been unknown!
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Monday 10th January 2005ad
"Birds are happy. And that's why they can fly".
Quote from Creature Comforts, on ABC TV tonight.
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Sunday 9th January 2005ad
Early this afternoon, I decided to go to Cockle Bay. After a quick bus trip from Rushcutters Bay to Sydney Cove, I found that the ferry was not to leave for half a hour.
The Museum Of Contemporary Art [MOCA] is but a short wander across the park from the ferry wharves. So I took myself there & spent an enlightening twenty minutes perusing the work of Korean Artist, Lee Bul. There were paintings of metallic paint on silk; white boards with mother of pearl inlay; sculptures constructed of hand-cut white polyurethene on aluminium frames. All her work is full of curved lines, and has the appearance of seeming to be whatever plants or animals, you may so very easily perceive within it.
Then it was back to Ferry Wharf Number Five. The ferry eased under the Sydney Harbour Bridge as it crossed the Harbour to Milsons Point. Then there was a quick traverse of Lavender Bay to McMahons Point. From here we skirted the northern side of Goat Island, with its parkland, old buildings & almost as old shipping facilities. Then it was down the west side of of Darling Harbour, to stop at Thames Street in Balmain, and Darling Harbour Wharf, before a u-turn in Cockle Bay, & north once more to disembark at Pyrmont.
The Welcome Wall is here, and a short stroll around the corner is the National Maritime Museum. I could only wander through a small part of this vast complex, which has free entry. There was a mass of fascinating & intricate memorabilia; close by which are small boats & marine aeroplanes hung from the ceilings, or attached to walls. There are much more massive moored ships at the Museum Wharves, but as it costs to enter them, and as I wish a whole day for that interest, it has to wait.
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Saturday 8th January 2005ad
... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - "Cosi Fan Tutti". Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Opera Australia's first 2005 production. ... |
...
... Mozart's Operas I always see, when I can. So I have seen "The Magic Flute" twice, "The Marriage Of Fiagaro" twice, and now, "Cosi Fan Tutti" twice. My first Cosi was at Conservatorium Of Music in Sydney, on 9th October 2004. Tonight was the second. The Opera Theatre air conditioning, initially, was rather on the warm side. It only really reached what was expected, after interval. But the acoustics were good, although the sound of fireworks going off somewhere in the Inner Harbour still came through distinctly, albeit not too loudly, during the most emotional of Fiordiligi's arias, in Act Two. The singing of the professionals, as to opposed to the Students, was mostly in the sheer strength of the voices of the former. And the singing was indeed very good. The acting was competent, but quite understandably, it took second place to the singing. ... |
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Friday 7th January 2005ad
Life has an escape hatch. It is called Death.
Actually, it is not the kind of escape
which interests me at all.
I would rather stay here in this world, warts & all as it may
be.
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Thursday 6th January 2005ad
News item on ABC News Radio today: Icebergs have been sighted close to New Zealand's South Island. This surprises me not at all. If the Circum-Antarctic Current is beginning to break up, it is precisely to expected. The breakup occurs as global warming has driven this current so far south, it can no longer flow around the Antarctic Peninsular. And it has been happening for five years now. Before and after each cool mid-summer, there is a period when it is hotter than usual. I almost look forward to this coming, despite my dislike of heat. One year it wil come later, or perhaps not at all, which will herald the complete end of the Circum-Antarctic Current. The resultant changes will not be completely predictable. Some parts of the world will be warmer, especially Antarctica. Others may be ironically cooler.
See also 29th December 2004 [this page]. I first came across this phenomenom not long after dawn on January 2000, whilst walking around Cremorne Point. The weather was so cold at the Point apex, that I would have been chilled to the bone if I had not worn a jumper. In a few days I had realised what was happening, but I could interest no-one.
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Wednesday 5th January 2005ad
I was home earlier than usual. So I had a shower, lay down and fell asleep for three hours. I wuld like to say that I awoke fresh and fit for action. But sadly I was all but as fatigued after ths sleep, as I was before.
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Tuesday 4th January 2005ad
Interesting that visiting the tsunami disaster zone, so that one can smell the difference, instead of just seeing it courtesy of another's camera lens, makes such a big difference to a politician's sense of the need for action.
Knowing is something. Seeing is more. Smelling, it seems, is everything.
Perhaps the most direct connection to the soul is through the nostrils!
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Monday 3rd January 2005ad
My apologies to the seismologists [see 28th December 2004]. I heard an interview today with one, and realise now that the process of determing whether there would be a tsunami, and how big, and where it would actually strike was rather more the involved than I had realised. By the time they knew, it was aready to late.
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Sunday 2nd January 2005ad
Finally I saw the Egytian Exhibiton at the Australian Museum in College Street in Sydney, which includes many artifacts and mummies from the Netherlands Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. Most impressive for me were all the written tracts: on papirus, linen, and stele. Also, the small statues of Cats, and of Non-Feline Servants.
The necklaces I noted, were either of a strict bilateral symmetry, or were completely asymmetrical. This was so even within the same time period.
The oddest thing was the "cross-dressing Mummy". The writing on the outside of the sarcophagus indicated a woman within; but x-rays proved the Mummy to be male!
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Saturday 1st January 2005ad
It does not seem any different. 2004? 2005? Just numbers.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
As to numbers: from yesterday afternoon, I suffered the delusion that it was saturday, not friday, albeit I had the dates right. And this delusion continued today, with me thinking it is sunday, until midday. I know not why this occurred! But knowing it did, explains the strange looks I was given at various times.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
Yesterday's high point for me was meeting a Cockatiel named Max, of one of the more minature versions of this kind of parrot. I met his right eye with my right eye. Osiris, not Set. There I saw a mixture of intellignce, curioisity & impishness!
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Friday 31st December 2004ad
More fireworks! Well it is Sydney, where all problems and questions are simply shelved aside with a spectacle of exploding light of no real substance. Certainly I do not argue that it gives an inaccurate view of the character of this city. Far from it!
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Thursday 30th December 2004ad
Five days ago, the Huygens lander separated from the Cassini probe. So while the latter will continue to ellipse its way around the Saturnian system, the former will, some time next month, attempt to land on Titan, that most large and atmospheric Saturnian satellite. I have looked forward to this for all those years since the launch of both. It makes me appreciate the sheer size of Our Solar System, which itself is but the merest mote on the face of our Galaxy, let alone the Universe.
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Wednesday 29th December 2004ad
Around the summer solstice, Sydney's weather this year has tended to be much cooler than one would expect form the averages determined over the decades.
It has been this way since 2000. This, together with the hotter than usual weather either side of the height of mid-summer, suggests a global warming cause. The coolness would be due to the circum-antarctic current moving so far south that it begins to break up, sending this cool weather northwards. This same effect would have casued the Larsen Ice Shelf to break up. I have been saying this or five years and fits the evidence to a neat fit, but no-one heeds me.
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Tuesday 28th December 2004ad
There must have been people who knew that the tsunami, once it had hit Sumatra & Thailand, was next bound for India & Sri Lanka. Surely there was some way to give the warning.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
I cut off two long pieces of Geranium today. One was nearly a metre long & was trying to push its way through my bedroom balcony door. Also I collected some tiny Selaginella [Clubmoss] seedlings, around sixteen in all, which had planted themselves in my Coriander long pot.
All of these I took across the harbour to Helen H. The Geranium is inside her unit for the moment. But I planted the Selaginella in her garden, as I know not how well they transplant, or if they transplant at all. They do look very attractive, at least for moment.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
The caterpillars which are eating my Herbs [22nd December 2004] have become a menace. There are too many for their food supply. They have completely defoliated the Cardinal Mint & the Coriander. The Sage is much less to their liking, but they have still holed many of its leaves. And they have even attacked a tough looking grass. So I moved three of them, to the tree which abuts my balcony. They may find its leaves inedible, but anyway, they would have starved where they were. And I tolerate not them eating my Herbs out of existence!
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Monday 27th December 2004ad
Writing. Writing. Writing.
Writing and Walking solve all
problems,
as I have oft said; ab nauseum perhaps.
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Sunday 26th December 2004ad
Music morning: Purcell; Mendelssohn, Felix; Boccherini; & others.
Visiting afternoon: Helen & others.
Evening: After the Aral Sea on SBS TV
- attempts to replenish it - I fell asleep.
But I woke just in time for Mary Magdalene on ABC TV. Divine
Intervention?
Be that as it may, even if we ignore her prominance in the Apocryphal tradition, there is still much evidence in the Gospels to credit her importance. Despite those patriarchal attempts to understate her role, she is still mentioned by all four of the orthodox Gospels, as being at the Crucifixion, when the men had fled in terror. And on the third day, according to Mark & John, it was Mary Magdalene alone, who witnessed first the risen Christ.
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Saturday 25th December 2004ad
I spent the day in housework. Must be the Puritan in my genes.
But I do find Christmas Day irritating, as everything is shut.
In any case, there in no evidence in the Gospels that Jesus the Nazarene was actually born on this day. The only evidence regarding the date of the nativity is those Shepherds. In Judea, they did not graze their flocks on the hillsides at night, during Mid-Winter.
If it were Mid-Winter here, and cold, I would appreciate a Mid-Winter Feast. But it is the opposite, Mid-Summer! A little cool it was today, but still well too hot for snow & frost. It is all, much too much perplexingly ironic, in an unsubtle way, for my plebian tastes.
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Friday 24th December 2004ad
Between two sweeps of storm clouds in Waverton today, there was an unpleasant sharp white sunlight. It seems the earlier rain cleared the filtering dust from the air. It is the third day since I mislaid my sunglasses, and the first period of sun during which my eyes did suffer.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
As I was to collect the CCLA mail, I alighted from the train at Wynyard. Normally I walk across the pedestrian crossing in George Street. But today, on a whim, I took the underpass, taking a few minutes to check the coin shop. Shortly later, about halfway along, I passed the Lawyer whom I used to see at the Neutral Bay Junction bus stop on my way to work, when I lived in Cremorne. Some call it fate. Others call it mere chance. I just say it happened.
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Thursday 23rd December 2004ad
It was the final night of "Balmain Jesus" at the Stables Theatre. So I had to go, if I were to see it. My right leg was in pain, but I managed to stretch it out to some degree of comfort. It was an interesting play, albeit at times I did wonder as to the point.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
Earlier
in the day: a Miracle of the more minor kind. In the early
afternoon, outside of 7
Tunks Street in Waverton, I found the pen which I lost two days
earlier. It was just lying on the concrete pavement. The outside
was rather scratched, as if something had scuffed it along the
concrete. But it works still! When I arrived home, I reunited it
with its cap.
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Wednesday 22nd December 2004ad
There are Caterpillars eating my
Herbs.
But I tolerate it, unless a Herb is in mortal danger.
No Caterpillars. No Butterflies.
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Tuesday 21st December 2004ad
In one correspondence chess game, I managed to complete the move tonight. But that was the one which alone was straight forward. It arrived today. The three which came yesterday require some analysis & looking at options. My mind is too stressed and tired to think at unusual angles. So they must wait.
<<<<<<<-C'est moi!->>>>>>>
Earlier in the day, in the afternoon, I suffered an annoyance. Unbeknown to me, there was a small hole in my right side shirt pocket. In lower King Street, by chance, I glanced at the pocket, to see the pen cap still in place, but the pen missing. Quickly I looked about, but it was nowhere nearby, and I had no opportunity timewise, to retrace my path and search for it! Annoying indeed, as it was a Staedler pen, which has such an attractive blue ink colour.
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Monday 20th December 2004ad
In the middle afternoon, I saw a dozen Leaden Flycatchers circle anti-clockwise, as they feed on the wing. They were just to the north of the corner of Whatmore & King Streets. Insects they eat are so small, they are all but invisible to a large clumsy human eye!
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Sunday 19th December 2004ad
After working this morning, which never agrees with me on a sunday, I went to the New South Wales Art Gallery. There I looked at paintings by John Glover, Arthur Streeton & Tom Roberts, taking particular note of their trees. Then I went to the Botanic Gardens to look at the real thing. The flowers of the Nightcap Oak had withered, but were still visible. But they are not much more exciting when they have not. Yet they are interesting, as they are archaic. Equally archaic, still flowering, and very much larger were the magnificent Magnolias. Their radial symmetry declares their archaic nature.
However, before I saw those trees, as I passed by the pair of Native Pomegranite Trees and saw a dozen Pearl White Butterflies fluttering in the shfts of sunlight down the path. A minute later and they had all moved from my field of view.
After the all these trees I left the real world for the shops in Town.
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Saturday 18th December 2004ad
In town today, I purchased two DVDs for $30.00: "Master And Commander - The Far Side Of The World" & "The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash". The first was the main target, while the second was bought as I needed that second DVD, to save that $4.95 on the first. I watched them both, this afternoon. After all, there is no time like the present.
"Master And Commander" - I bought this sight unseen, as sadly, I had managed to miss it at the movies. It proved to be as excellent as I had hoped.
"The Rutles" - I saw this years ago. It is a bit uneven, but overall well worth the watching.
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Friday 17th December 2004ad
One does wonder as to the purpose of that present.
Was it given as a gift with love? ... Or was it given to gain virtue?
With someone whom I really know not much at all, it is hard to determine.
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Thursday 16th December 2004ad
The problem I have with the supposed macroscopic consequences of Quantum Theory, as epitomised by Schroedinger's Famous Feline, is that things of which I knew nothing keep managing to sneak up on me, unobserved, to ill effect. Since I knew not of these mal-effects, surely I should not have been constrained by them. For, according to that Cat mentioned above, they should have had no existence!
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Wednesday 15th December 2004ad
Poised at some point between existence & non-existence.
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Tuesday 14th December 2004ad
Tonight was the quarterly meeting of the Correspondence Chess League Of Australia. This is the one administrative meeting to which I willingly go, even in this unpleasantly hectic time of the year, for it is efficient and productive.
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Monday 13th December 2004ad
A Mob is just a Crowd gone feral.
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Sunday 12th December 2004ad
Yesterday lunchtime, I managed to make the WEA Writer's Group Christmas Lunch, although I was too tired to go to the reading afterwards. But I did manage to stagger to Dirt Cheap CDs in Pitt Street, to find that The Beatles CDs have finally dropped to the standard price there, of $10.00. I bought "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul".
I have now listened to both. "Rubber Soul" is definitely worth listening, albeit one track I find a bit weak [i.e "What Goes On" - Track 8].
"Revolver" is the big surprise. I knew this album, but have not heard it for more than a decade. The surprise is, as to how excellent it is, as this excellence is in the subtle details, which one can easily overlook. Things I know now, which I knew not then, like the influence of Jazz rhythms on the bass-lines in this album.
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Saturday 11th December 2004ad
My sleeping habits have not improved. I was out at 4.00am today, walking the streets to post two Correspondence Chess games, which I had spent the previous few hours completing.
If I had have been more clear in the head, as to the unexpected, I could have prevented a bag snatch, by calling out to the women that a man was following her. It was that I thought he may have been following her, as his body language, despite the shroud of grey clothing, bespoke of some clear intention, and he was keeping a discrete distance, whilst still giving that sense of intense focus. So I considered a short while, then followed much behind that way to make sure that nothing untoward happened. But I was too far behind, and actually out of sight of the attack, when it occurred. It just did not occur to me, when she was within hearing, to call out and warn her. If such I observed again, I must certainly would call out a warning
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Friday 10th December 2004ad
My Frangipani has its first leaf fully out, although it is rather much on the small side. It is also has begun to shoot forth two new leaves.
It has been helped, no doubt, by the various attacks made on the Geranium by microbes & insects. I choose not to do anything about these, unless the plant in question is under threat of its existence. After all, without Caterpillars there are no Butterflies.
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Thursday 9th December 2004ad
Once more I have fallen in to the pattern of falling asleep for an hour or so soon after arriving home. Then, after awaking, I am very slow to achieve anything, until quite late at night, which results in me having not enough hours sleep overnight. Contributing to this malaise are the hot humid days, which disagree with my sinuses.
Ah well! It is not a Perfect World!
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Wednesday 8th December 2004ad
Indian Mynas are enthusiastic imitators, albeit they are far from being the most accurate. At times, it may be difficult for the human observers to determine what is being imitated, however much it is meaningful for the Mynas, for their own purposes. These aims would seem to have almost all to do with territory & kinship bonds. For while these Birds roost at night in large flocks, by day for feeding, they are very territorial in small family groups of two or three adults, plus young depending on season. The third adult is most likely an offspring of the pair from the previous year.
On monday last, however, it was very clear as to what the three Indian Mynas near Saint Leonards Railway Station, were spending the early morning imitating: the unmistakable sound of train wheels passing over the tracks.
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Tuesday 7th December 2004ad
This is not a formally worked out resolution, by any means. It just grew out of a persistent irritation from yesterday. I need to get things in order. Especially there are two avenues of disorder. One is those persistent drifts of unfiled papers. The other is just leaving things undone. ... I must achieve, if I am ever to have an agreeable piece of mind. There must be an end to this creating with one hand & destroying with the other.
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Monday 6th December 2004ad
My Red Flowering Gum flowers are all wilting. Insects went to them, albeit no birds that I saw. I wonder if there will be any seeds set?
On the Herb front: The shifting sun is now slanting better on my Sage, Mint & Coriander. So all flourish. At least, that is, until the cold hand of Winter slants the sunbeams away. Perhaps I may have to find some way of raising their planters.
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Sunday 5th December 2004ad
Today I bought a triple DVD for $70.00, minus a 10% discount for being a SSO subscriber. This was Doctor Who, which is perhaps childish & money-foolish of me. But on it are episodes of the Troughton & Hartnell Eras, which I have not seen since childhood. So I make no apologies for being able to view 2 episodes of "The Moonbase" and 2 episodes of "The Wheel In Space". And I am yet to tackle DVD-1, where there are 3 episodes of "The Dalek Masterplan".
In our current age, memories are
increasingly preserved in picture & sound.
Yet their storage becomes ever more compact.
Micro-isation of template enables macro-isation of recall.
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Saturday 4th December 2004ad
This evening I was at a Work Chrismas Seafood Barbecue, which was very pleasant.
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Friday 3rd December 2004ad
. Claudio Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" <<<<<<<-M->>>>>>> Pinchgut Opera with the Orchestra Of The Antipodes Conductor - Antony Walker; Director & Design - Mark Gaal At The City Recital Centre at Angel Place, Sydney CBD <<<<<<<-M->>>>>>> ..One of those procrastinations! I knew this Opera was on, and it was a must see for me. Yet only on Monday did I finally book. Fortunately, while the B Reserve seats of the central first row were all sold, I was able to get an A Reserve front row seat, on the audience's right side. It was perfect, worth the extra $20, at $95. I could stretch my feet out! There was a clear view of the stage. And since seat EE60 was right on the rightside inside aisle, I was privilaged to some magical moments. When the brass made the entrance down the aisles, I was close by half of them. These instruments were Sackbutts, Tenor, Alto & Bass, which all do look like Trombones, as they all have some sort of slide; & Cornettos, which sound like modern Trumpets or Cornets do, but look most unlike them, having a short length which curves slightly upwards, with a square shaped end, and finger holes on the top, perhaps half a dozen of them. The sound is very brassy, and to the audience of Monteverdi's day, would have sounded sacred, as they were generally insruments for Church Music. However, they lack the control, range & ease of use of their modern descendants. Hence the change. The Brass were not used again, until the second half, when Orfeo is in Hades, when they were placed in the first floor gallery to the audience's left. This was except for the most intense Aria of despair of Orfeo [sung by Mark Tucker], when two Cornetto players placed themselves on the stage to the audience's right, while the two Violinists placed themselves on the stage to the audience's left. They accompanied Orfeo, in what was a very sacred sounding song by Monteverdi. His vast experience at composing Church music is obvious. The rest of the Orchestra, who were in the "pit", in front of the stage, were perfectly normal for a secular Italian Baroque Opera, but very exotic to modern eyes. The Keyboards were two Harpsicords and one Chamber Organ. One Harpsicordist doubled on the Chamber Organ. The Windwoods were a Curtal & a Recorder. There was Percusion. Completing the Orchestra are the Strings, prominant & dominant as nowadays, but of a rather different ensemble: two Violins; one Viola; one Violone; two Violas De Gamba; one Baroque Harp; & three Theorbos, two of whose players doubled on Baroque Guitar. <<<<<<<-M->>>>>>> Another magic moment for my aisle seat, was when Sarah Macliver was singing as La Musica. She moved off the stage & on to the aisle. But before weaving her way through the Orchestra, she stood singing no more than two metres from me: Just wondrous; clear & crystal, like some divine and perfect mountain brook! When she had finished singing as La Musica, and as an indication she would now sing Masseggiera, she left her shoes on the stage, at the front left. She took each shoe off, with the use of the other foot. Left shoe came off easily, on cue. Right shoe was a bit of a struggle, but like a true professional she merely impassively persisted until it did. The whole ensemble sang beautifully, I thought. At interval I overheard many comments of a likewise opinion. There was strong & warm applause at interval. And at the end, the applause was so warm and persistent, that the enemble was forced to return for a second curtain call. Forced I do mean, as there was such a long pause before they did, it was as if they had not expected the audience's insistence! |
These above thoughts I will fill out & post on another page.
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thursday 2nd December 2004ad
It is not a perfect world! The human made odour, which I have a severe allergy to, made its presence know at about 7.30am. On a quick work related trip, down to the other end of this warehouse style building, I found I could breathe. On frequent brief trips outside for fresh air, likewise. So I established that the source of my problem was within about ten metres of my work station. Sadly, I could not discover whom it was, who was wearing whatever chemical is causing my sinuses' unpleasant reaction.
Whomever it is, they only wear the substance once or twice a fortnight, thank God!
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Wednesday 1st December 2004ad
Allergy Tree update. I had severe problems with this on Monday this week, when I was inside, at Saint Leonards. My headache was severe, to the point of my head feeling obscure & fuzzy; concentration being very difficult. I could even smell the scent of these Tree's flowers inside the building, which is at least 20 metres from the two Trees in question! During the afternoon in Waverton, I felt much better. This was all over the ridge, and not just when I had passed beyond an Allergy Tree or Trees; such as, at the bottom end of Mchatton Street, or just down the steep rise at the upper Crows Nest Road, or going down the steeper slope in the middle of Tunks Street.
Tuesday, I felt much better inside at Saint Leonards. And when in Waverton, I checked the Allergy Tree at the boundary of 190 Pacific Highway & 60 Crows Nest Road, to find its flowers mostly dead, about 80%. And I stood beneath the Tree, without ill effect, although I made no attempt to deliberately sniff them, dead or alive. They must have already been coming to the end of their flowering, which has been since mid October, although the heat possibly helped their demise.
Going down the Waverton ridge, all of these Trees were in a similiar state, except that of 18 McKye Street, where the floral death toll was much lower, and the ill scent was a clear odour within the air. So here I hurried on.
Back in Saint Leonards, I briefly & discretely checked the Allergy Trees there. There was a floral of about half.
Wednesday, today, no problems at all I experienced. I checked all the Allergy Trees, seeing death rates at around 90-98%. I am aware that these flowers are not dead kaput, but dead setting seeds, or at least attempting to!
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
At 2.00pm, during this hot, but erratic day, I was at the Cherry Tree in McKye Street, in Waverton. It is due north of where the trains enter the tunnel, when leaving Waverton Station northbound. The Cherry Tree leaves are now in full canopy, providing a thankful shade. Winds are common here. This location is on a ridge top, & they are funnelled between two tall residential apartment blocks. As this ridge slopes down to the Sydney Harbour, which is quite close by, the breezes are almost invariably cool, even on the hotest days.
Today, they were most perculiar. There was about twenty seconds of cool breeze; then an abrupt change to very hot breeze, tropical in its intensity, for roughly another twenty seconds; then the same length of cool again; and the same length of hot following. Thus it continued for the four or five minutes I was there. Strangest of all, the wind was consistently from the same direction, the north-west; never altering an iota with each dramatic temperature change. This phenomenom I have never experienced before! In my Central Queensland childhood, I did experience an oscillation between hot & cold breezes, but this was always with an appropiate change in the wind direction; never with the wind coming from the same point of the compass.
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Tuesday 30th November 2004ad
Heat was not as high as predicted today, but it was unpleasant enough.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Red Flowering Gum Update: .Branch Tip One - The number of flowers reached nine, but they are now all wilting. .Branch
Tip Two - This
is the second blossoming, and it is close by the above
branch tip. .Branch
Tip Three - Both
of the above are on the taller, northwards tending
branch. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, |
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Monday 29th November 2004ad
Today I received Patrick Cook's resignation. This is my first win in the 2004 Qualifying Tournament of the Correspondence Chess League of Australia.
Yet my pleasure is somewhat dampened by the fact, that I will almost certainly shortly resign my game against Max Kershaw. This will be my first loss in the same Tourney.
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Sunday 28th November 2004ad
Three hours sleep overnight had left me ill-tempered, and unable to concentrate.
But a further two hours sleep today, despite the unpleasant humid heat of the solar apex, has left me clear headed and able to pursue tasks to a clean conclusion.
The whole question of that strange state sleep, which sits an uncomfortable middle between wakefulness and unconsciousness, is apt to confuse.
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Saturday 27th November 2004ad
Last night, as mentioned, was the final concert in the Sibelius cycle.
<<<<<<<-S->>>>>>>
s Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO] - Sibelius Cycle Conductor = Vladimir Ashkenazy. f This was the fourth & final concert in the cycle. As it was the one I had not booked in January - I am not sure quite why! - I had to accept what was available when fianlly did book, not many weeks before the concert. I was high in the circle, in Q33, at about the level of the surreal plastic disks which modulate the accoustics. My head was above the highest disk & my feet below the lowest disk. For the first time during this Cycle, I could see clearly the full layout of the SSO under Ashkenazy. But my body did not enjoy the reduced leg-room. And without seeing his smile, the body movements of Ashenazy sometimes made him seem a strangely comic figure, which he did not seem at all, from the front row. Be that as it may, his conducting of the excellent SSO, produced a most marvelous performance, which deserved any amount of applause. Symphony Number Six. An understated beginning for the 1st Movement: slow, quiet, very melodic & mystically introspective. But soon by gradual degrees, it quickens, and is often cheerful, albeit it often soon lapsing back into a quieter introspection. Sibelius achieves a vivid sense of cheerfulness, by a technique of a rapid alternation of each Woodwind solo voice, together with the Harp, in small bursts, which are not discrete units to the ear, but rather blend into a single varied sound-substance: a seamless patchwork. The Harp here was placed at the end of the first row of Woodwinds, to the audience's left, with one of the Second Violins on the other immediate side of the Harp. The 1st Movement finishes by lifting to a crescendo, then fading to a quietude. There is almost no pause, and the beginninng of the 2nd Movement is very much like the end of the 1st Movement. The 2nd builds almost in lyric swirls, which are at the one & the same time, both wild with abandon & well constrained. Then it suddenly stops with a false ending. After the pause, it builds again, slowly at first, then more quickly, towards the real more dramatic end. The 3rd Movement: emotionally chaotic! It starts with a slow depressive notes, rapidly builds up to an excitement, dropping back to the low depressive notes. Then there is that "hunt" which builds momentum, until a sudden stop. The 4th Movement, au contraire, begins at a pace, and alternately soars and drops; although at times it has this sense, of seeming to sweep ever up the notational scale without, however, any descent. Impossible, of course. It is a clever and interesting illusion. This Final Movement is even more a contradiction than the first three! There are excitable crescendoes with soaring Clarinets or Violins, quite next to slow introspective lulls. Its ending, even much more than that of the first, is a mere soft whisper fading into the memory of a slight echo. ---INTERVAL--- This changed from the Programme, with "Tapiola" moved from before it, to after it. When I returned to me seat, the Harp was gone. Jean Sibelius seems to have an ambiguous attitude to the this instrument. Tapiola. This Tone-Poem is absolutely splendid. It is hard for me to explain what is happening, for while I was rivetted by it, I was not quite sure what that was, let alone how it was achieved. The changes of pace are very abrupt and dramatic; as is the change in the orchestral emphasis for the Woodwinds to the Strings or to the Brass. And yet, it all seems so natural. At no tims is it forces. The Poetic Emotion of the piece is full genuine throughout! Symphony Number Seven. The Seventh is played without pause from start to finish. This concept, I have often surmised, is intended to prevent applause between movements. But that did not happen tonight. It only happened during the second concert: the mid-week Gala Event. It seems that the mid-week audience is somehow of an essentially different nature. The Seventh begins quietly, with shimmering strings, rising to a punctuation by a short drum roll, to drop again. The Woodwinds now mingle with the Strings. Soon we are rising in volume, in that optimistic stirring way, which is so characteristic of Sibelius, when he is in the mood for optimism! As the work progresses, the more prominent crescendos are lead by the Brass, with the Strings following, and are punctuated by the Timpani at their peak. Smaller crescendos are sometimes lead by the Violins, but again the Timpani puncuate the apex. In the quieter moments, Sibelius again uses this technique of seamless Woodwind solo patchwork. There is no Harp this time. When Sibelius wants to display uncertainty, it appears to be one of the many tasks of the Violins, which have such a versatity of sound. The ending, however, is every bit as understated as that of his Fourth Symphony. It just quietly disappears, as with the Seventh Symphony. I have not yet read the Programme, so it is possible that a far more qualified person than me, in writing the programme notes, has contradicted all that I have said. But I follow what I was taught, when I studied Geology at James Cook University. Do not be afraid to have an opinion & put it forward. At worst you can be wrong and learn from your misconception. In fact, that is the path I had already followed. Yet the instruction was pleasant indeed. It is usually chuffing to have one's basic instincts confirmed! <<<<<<<-A->>>>>>> s |
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Friday 26th November 2004ad
Jean Sibelius - Tonight was the fourth & final concert in the Sibelius Cycle.
The Tone-Poem, "Tapiola", was played just after interval, sandwiched between the Sixth & Seventh Symphonies. Whilst I was enthusiastically enjoying it, my mind also came to a tangental conclusion: Certain tracks by the Symphonic Rock group, Pink Floyd, are Tone-Poems. Definitely I would include here: "Careful With That Axe, Eugene"; "A Saucerful Of Secrets" [the title track]; "The Narrow Way"; "Sisyphus"; "Echoes". The Tone-Poems seem to end with "Echoes", on the "Meddle" album.
Were the Pink Floyd listening to R. Strauss, J. Sibelius & the like? Or was it a case of a searching in equivalent ways & coming to similiar musical conclusions?
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Thursday 25th November 2004ad
The following line is not a tautology:
Sighted the Spotted Quoll.
[On ABC-TV tonight, there is much worth
viewing, including the Spotted Quoll on "Catalyst".
But I am much too much tired! So I have set the video to record
for about three hours.
This I will consume over the weekend, at leisure, probably in
between fits of activity.
Another weekend theatened, of vain attempts to order my
existence!]
There are now nearly a dozen flowers on the tips of two branches of my Red Flowering Gum, although the earliest blooms are beginning to dishevel. This is probably the height of what can be expected, and even if I have seen no nectar eating birds visiting them, it is still not bad for a slight tree, which is not much more than a metre tall.
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Wednesday 24th November 2004ad
. |
This was the headline in today's Sydney Morning Herald. I only saw it in passing, so I have no idea as to the further details in the actual story. But it did occur to me immediately, that a more pertinent headline would be:
. |
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Tuesday 23rd November 2004ad
The idea that Tony Windsor, MHR for New England, should resign from Parliament, because he is an honest man who is telling the truth, is bizarre.
That the Australian Federal Police can decide whether or not to pursue a serious accusation, without interviewing several obvious witnesses, is equally bizarre.
There is this festering rank smell, which Tony Windsor has uncovered. It will not be go away, until the sewer from which it emanates it is cleaned out.
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Monday 22nd November 2004ad
Iraqi non-combatants are killed every day.
Is this really Truth, Justice & the American Way?
Well, it is certainly not Truth & Justice.
Very sadly, it has become the American Way.
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Sunday 21st November 2004ad
The Anti-Christ's Administration¹ has demanded that Iran and North Korea abandon nuclear weapons, but is absolutely silent on the question of Israel's nuclear weapons, which are easily more numerous and advanced, than those of Iran and North Korea combined.
Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, when he was a Senior Israeli Military Officer in the 1970s, was found by an Israeli legal enquiry to be responsible for the massacre of thousands of innocent civilians near Beirut. Given this, it is very sensible to be concerned about his finger being on a nuclear trigger.
[¹ i.e. George Bush Junior, which anyone would probably guess. Refer: 8th November 2004 Occasional Thought.]
And the Anti-Christ's Pet Poodle² says that his only aim is "to serve the Australian people". He can hardly continue to that, when he has never served anyone but himself. When he was a member of the Opposition Cabinet, he was so concerned with his public duty that he moonlighted as a consultant to private industry. Check it out!
[² i.e. John Howard, Australian Prime Minister. Refer: 8th November 2004 Occasional Thought.]
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Saturday 20th November 2004ad
Today is the annivesary of the first performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" in 1805, in Vienna. It was a success, unlike its earlier version as "Leonore". But the failure of "Leonore" may have been less due to artistic problems, than the fact that the French under Napoleon Bonaparte had just occupied Vienna.
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s Sydney Symphony Orchestra [SSO] - Sibelius Cycle Conductor = Vladimir Ashkenazy. f Symphony Number Four. The Sibelius Symphony which was not well received on its debut. It is quite clear as to why when one hears it. It is more restrained than the third, even "nihilistic" as tonight's programme put it. He had good reason for being depressed, as he thought he may have been terminally ill. The Fourth Symphony has a mesmering melancholy, but while I enjoyed it, it is not my favourite work of Sibelius'. Perhaps with all the problems I am having with my health, albiet not terminally inclined [touch wood], it is not surprising that his most melancholy Symphony would be my favourite. Luonnotar [The Nature-Spirit]. A Tone-Poem for a Soprano and Orchestra, which seems to me to match the Fourth Symphony with its quiet melancholy mood. It is a very difficult piece for the singer, as Sibelius' concern, in every way, is with the particular sounds & effects he wants; and not with the well known fact that a singer, even one as aetherial, as Sopranos are often theorised to be, is in the ultimate end of things, all too human. In short, she still must breathe! Merlyn Quaife may not have had much time to breathe, but the Melbourne Soprano still sang very well. At the conclusion, Vladimir Ashkenazy turned to her said "Bravo". This was said almost quietly, and was directed to Merlyn alone. That is, it was said from his heart, and was not a show of public support, for the audience's benefit. Symphony Number Five. Quite a contrast to the Fouth Symphony. The Fifth is indeed triumphal in comparison. it thoroughly exhorts the musical senses, and was certainly the way to complete the night. One passes through melancholy & introspection, to head for home, with an impassioned uplift; hopefully to quickly find a bus home. And, indeed I did. A point of humour came at the very end of this Symphony. The music stops, a strong hesistaion, and then is followed by several isolated notes. One or two people began to clap before the notes. <<<<<<<-A->>>>>>> I was in a different seat tonight in the front row - D33 rather than D27 - and I could see the profile of the conductor. Ashenazy, although he uses a baton, conducts with his whole body, to obtain the emotion and colour he wants from the musicians. He smiles often and the feeling that I got was that he is a remarkably even tempered & humble person. s |
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THE END IS NEAR
INDEED, IT IS HERE !!
©TONY SIMS, 2004ad - Text, Formatting & Ego.
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