The Flip Side

Holidays Over ... Time To Work

2006-10-06T20:42:00.000+10:00

So having a great couple of days it was now time to actually do some work seeing the company was now paying for some stuff. On the upside I got into such a better hotel than where I was before (and it was only and extra $20 a night from where I was before).

I was a little worried in my adventures "what would happen if I fell over, broke my leg and couldn't actually work and do what I'd been sent down here to do?". Note to self for future - work first, then play.

The 4 days that I've been working have been some serious hours. Usually by the time I finish work and get back to the hotel, restaurants aren't even open to try to grab a bite. It certainly has been a challenging environment. Basically the company is downsizing the Adelaide office. Thus I have the fun task of taking work off people who have been made redundant and transferring it to Sydney.

Ah well. Looking forward to the weekend and one last little adventure before I fly back to Sydney.

Bed Bugs - ARGH!!!!

2006-10-06T20:38:00.000+10:00

I came down to Adelaide several days before work and paid for my own hotel. I figured I'd spoil myself a little with a 4 star hotel. I made a really bad choice. The first night I had bed bugs (I went through 30 hostels in Europe and never had this problem but do in an expensive hotel - WTF?!), couldn't sleep properly most nights, the trims on the hotel certainly weren't 4 star, the location was rather bad and the staff just seemed indifferent.

When I checked out there was the usual 'How was your stay". At times like this you wonder whether you should let them know, will it do any good, will you feel better? I just let it slid knowing I would never be back there and hope that no one else evers stays at Hotel 208 in Adelaide.

Kangaroo Island Thoughts

2006-10-05T20:18:00.000+10:00

Kangaroo Island was an amazing place. Unfortunately I only got to spend a day there and being part of a tour group, everything seemed a bit rushed. Still, seeing some of it rushed is better than not seeing it at all. The upside with the tour is that we lucked out and had a great tour guide who lived on the Island for 50 years. You certainly got the feeling it has seen massive changes in those times. It seems that in the last 10 years, once a regular ferry service was put in place, that is when the Island has really opened up to tourists - for better or worse.

Admirals Arch

2006-10-05T20:04:00.000+10:00

Back into the coach and off for another drive. We then came to this spot with some wonderful scenic views:

Who can argue with views like this? Actually when I get back home I've taken quite another of photos that I would like to use as plates for matte paintings.

I guess the obvious question becomes "Why is it called Admirals Arch?" ... well, because of this:

Now if you look down in the bottom left hand corner of the above photo, you'll see that there are some seals in the photo. Here is a close up.

Remarkably bad naming.

2006-10-04T21:23:00.000+10:00

After the seals, into the coach for another 45 minute drive for some lunch. Afterwards it was another 45 minute coach ride out to "Remarkable Rocks" (I must admit, the naming of sites on the island was very ordinary). So what is remarkable rocks, well, these things.

Basically they are single, monolith structures of granite. The largest one weighs around an estimated 5000t. It was hard to get decent photographs without tourists in the way. Although without them, if you haven't been there, you don't get a good sense of scale.

Just How Big

2006-10-04T21:14:00.000+10:00

So the third largest Island... doesn't sound like much, its just an Island. It is 150km long. It also has a seal breading ground over an hours drive from where we landed. This was definately a highlight and we were only just metres away from guys like this:

The beach itself was just lined up with these lazy buggers (and for those who are wondering, no they didn't smell at all)

Actually they weren't lazy. What they do is go out to sea for 3 days and feed non stop, no sleep etc. In 3 days they may swim around 1000-2000km. Thus they then get to shore, rest for 3 days straight and repeat the cycle. Even got to see one surfing a wave into shore, pretty special.

Monday - Kangaroo Island Bound

2006-10-04T21:07:00.000+10:00

I jumped into a coach and headed out to Kangaroo Island. It is a 2 hour drive from Adelaide and then a 45 minute ferry ride. Kangaroo Island is the 3rd largest Island in Australia (1st being Tasmania, 2nd Lord Howe). They had some wind farms on the shore line and these are the first that I've seen in Australia - trying to recall if I saw some in Europe/Outside Amsterdam.

Hahndorf

2006-10-04T09:28:00.000+10:00

After a scenic look over Adelaide, it was off to a small little town called Hahndorf. During the 1830-40s, there was religious persecution all over Europe. Thus some germans decided to 'escape' to South Australia, which was growing at the time. They setup this town called Hahndorf. It is kinda touristy but quaint and I had a good feed.

Adelaide Hills

2006-10-01T19:07:00.000+10:00

In the afternoon I jumped onto a tour bus to go to places just a little outside of Adelaide. Ideally I like to explore on my own but given the short lead time I had in researching this trip, I'll let someone else do a bit of the organising this time. Adelaide itself sits on a plain and this is taken from the mountain about 15 minutes drive out of Adelaide. It is 770m above sea level. The haze made for some interesting views.

Sunday: Rodin - What is Genius?

2006-10-01T18:59:00.000+10:00

Have to Adjust to 'small town' working hours. Being a Sunday, nothing really opened or got moving until about 11am. Thus I went to the art gallery first and they had an exquisite exhibition of Rodin sculptures. While there, a brother and sister where having a look at the exhibit by themselves. They were about 12 years old - the sister into it, the brother wanted to be elsewhere.

It made me wonder, how would you explain the 'genuis' of Rodin to someone like that? I've always had a thing when it comes to art about people talking down to those interested but with little background. Often the response seems to be something along the lines "well, if you can't understand his genius, then your just uncultured". Always seemed to be a cop out. People want to know more about it and rather than nurtured, their interest is dismissed.

Then it occurred to me, at least in the context of Rodin. Genius' are able to create a new path through the wilderness, to get to a beautiful site we've never seen before. They lead the way and do all the hard yards so that once we see it in the new light, it becomes obvious and how could we have ever seen it differently. Think about impressionist paintings. They started to see light differently yet it makes such obvious sense today.

In terms of Rodin, he showed a new way of expressing the human form. Something less polished than a Michangelo but as valid.

Dumb Stupid Luck Continuing

2006-10-01T18:55:00.000+10:00

It seems sometimes taking a great photograph is a matter of just happening to be in the right place at the right time. This photo seems to be no exception. It was just the sunsetting and the way the buildings align, made for some great piccys - no photoshop or anything else, this is the raw photo.

Picture Perfect

2006-10-01T18:52:00.000+10:00

After the Art Gallery, I went for a walk around the CBD of Adelaide. The weather was fantastic and it was just so picture perfect. The one thing about the place is that the CBD is surrounded by 17,000 hectares of parkland - it is everywhere. This is the area just north of the CBD and just so relaxing.

From the Airplane Straight Into the Art Gallery

2006-09-30T19:16:00.000+10:00

Given that I have limited time and want to get the most out of being in Adelaide, I got off the plane, checked into my hotel and then straight to the Art Gallery of South Australia. I read that Adelaide was the 'cultural heart of Australia' and thought that was an overzealous claim to fame. It was also claimed that the Art Gallery of South Australia had the best collection in Australia - I was skeptical.

Actually the collection of paintings they have, I hate to say it, is far better than the Art Gallery in Sydney. They have more significant Australian paintings and a better representation of European masters. Whoever has been advising the gallery on their purchases over the years has done a great job. Was definately worth checking out and if I get time, I'll be back.

Adelaide - What the?!

2006-09-30T19:08:00.000+10:00

Well I've just arrived in Adelaide for a week. Where I was working needed someone to come down to the Adelaide Office and they decided that it should be me. I have some time to myself and being the first time in Adelaide, thought I'd check out the place while I was at it. Watch this space for some more updates!

For the non Aussies reading this blog, if you put your finger in the middle of Australia, then go all the way directly down to the southern coastline, that is where Adelaide is (in the area where every one gets eaten by great white sharks - about 2000km away from Sydney).

Creatures

2006-07-24T16:24:00.000+10:00

Recently I spent many days in the Australian Museum drawing from the stuffed animals and skeletons. I then put together some of my own creatures as shown below. All are just pencil and inspired by artist Neville Page.

A Few Side Experiments

2006-06-11T13:39:00.000+10:00

Still working away on my little comic and the like. A week ago I got these dry paint pigments and been playing with them a little. Here a couple of quick little paintings from life (about 25 minutes each) and the results of initial experiments:

Pearl Jam Comment

2006-05-09T10:23:00.000+10:00

Just been listening to the new album, and getting into it. I saw this review in the paper the other day:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/pearl-jam-aim-their-guitars-at-the-war/2006/05/02/1146335733822.html

It certainly isn't surprising that it is an anti war album. When they were last on tour in Australia, 2003, it was in the lead up to the Iraq invasion and they certainly took shots at George W. Even their last album had several anti George songs ie Bu$hleaguer.

Each album sells less than the previous one. This probably will continue but as the band says, they are trying to weed out the people who aren't true fans....

Right Place, Right Time

2006-05-09T10:08:00.000+10:00

Just wondering around locally with a camera and just happened to be in the right place at the right time

Things Falling Apart

2006-05-07T22:07:00.001+10:00

Over the last couple of years I've spent time learning the strict discipline of art. Thus now I know a lot of the rules and technically proficient with them, its time to have some fun.

This drawing is rather large - about 1x1.5m. I'd do a drawing in charcoal, rub parts of it out, rotate it and repeat. Did this about a dozen times and the texture/image built up until this.

It's probably more a direction I want to head in, letting things fall apart as I find the images have more energy and 'life' to them. And for the record, this was done with my right hand (I'm left handed).

With Housemates Like These ...

2006-05-07T22:07:00.000+10:00

My housemate has some wonderful birds. This is one of them, a parrot (similar to those ones in 'The Wild Birds of Telegraph Hill'). Can be a little noisy at times but it really cool.

Website Update .... Finally

2006-04-30T18:53:00.000+10:00

I finally updated my website, something I've been meaning to do for about the last 6 months. For those who don't know what it is, or haven't been in awhile, feel free to swing by to:

http://www.mattelder.com

One of the updated images, done with 'traditional' gouache media below.

Its All About Satisfaction

2006-04-29T18:25:00.000+10:00

Today I finished the pencils/inks on a new comic short story that I am working on. Visually it is an improvement upon my last comic story (kinda learnt a lot since then). Now I just have the 'painting/toning' which will probably take just as long. Here is a sample page:

Pearl Jam - New Album

2006-04-29T18:19:00.000+10:00

Pearl Jam released their 8th studio album today and I got my grubby little hands on it. I usually have to listen to a new album a dozen times to get a good feel for it so my impression will come later.

I am cheering that they are touring in Australia later in the year (November is the rumour mill at the moment). That will give plenty of time to get into the new album. Last couple of albums they have released, a month or so later they have come to Australia.

Archibald Show 2006

2006-04-27T00:41:00.000+10:00

Those in Sydney would be aware that the Archibald is the annual portrait painting prize of $35,000 held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It is usually one of the most topical with everyone having an opinion. I guess I'll have my 2 cents now.

Archibald seems to be one of those competitions that people love to hate, I'm normally no different. This year however, I enjoyed the show. There were a number of entries that were very technically well executed but didn't do much for me. I think I'm now in a phase where I'm appreciating more the painting surface falling apart - kinda like Impressionists on Speed. Ironic considering how much time over the years I've tried to get everything to be just right.

The winner, I guess, was deserving in my opinion. My 2 cents worth. Hopefully in the next couple of years I'll get my stuff together and consider entering .... maybe...

A Couple of Days of Painting - Part II

2006-04-25T09:54:00.000+10:00

Here are a couple more digital paintings from the weekend. First is another model one, about 20 minutes:

Another landscape which was a bit over an hour:

A Couple of Days of Painting

2006-04-24T23:57:00.000+10:00

Managed to get out of Sydney for a couple of days and headed over the other side of the Blue Mountains. An artist friend of ours, Lucy Culliton (check her artwork out at http://www.rayhughesgallery.com/artistDisplay.asp?artistId=21), has her studio set up there.

Several of us hired a model and I did some digital paintings. The one shown here is just a quick 20 minute painting.

The area is amazing out there so I also did this quick landscape (bit over an hour).

Reboot the Blog

2006-04-18T20:08:00.000+10:00

I know it has been aloooooong time since the last post. I've spent alot of that time actually working on my art. It has really come along in leaps an bounds in the last 6 months. Hopefully I'll do a website update some time in the next couple of months and get some decent work up. In the mean time, this was a recent gouache painting that took about 3 hours- A3 size (17x12 inches).

More art

2005-09-18T03:08:00.000+10:00

Been a little busy with art lately (and also looking for a new job - a victim of 3rd party politics). First up is a wedding commission that I did from a photograph that was normal size. The final image was A1 size (60 x 84cm):

This was several hours from a live model:

Now for a change of pace, a digital painting that started off as really strange abstract shapes and worked into this

Shameless Plug

2005-09-09T00:13:00.000+10:00

I've gone through and updated my main website http://www.mattelder.com. There are several images I've up loaded that haven't been shown here so even long time blog readers might be interested in checking it out. Enjoy.

More Portraits

2005-08-23T20:44:00.000+10:00

Here are a couple more portraits from the other day. Somehow I will never forget this model ...

This one at A3 size (42x30cm)

This one at A5 size (21x15cm)

This one at A6 size (15x12cm)

Some Portraits

2005-08-14T22:11:00.000+10:00

I've been a little slack as of late uploading artworks, thus time for some piccys'. Recently I've really started to focus in on the face and portraits. Below are some results from the last month, all drawn from live models in a bit over half a day. First up is probably one of the last tonal drawings that I'll do on white paper, takes forever to give average results:

Same person as above but slightly different angle

This one I was relatively happy on the final composition and the look of the picture.

This one is a little different in style to the above ones as they try to capture the light as it falls. This one, you draw lines wrapping around the form to describe it and not really worried about lighting. Not crazy about the result but wasn't having a 'good' day.

Now I just have to figure out how to get friends to sit for me .... maybe a sweetener, they could kept the final drawing.... any takers?!

'Downshifting' - The Next New Buzz Word

2005-08-03T20:36:00.000+10:00

Those who know me would have heard me at least once quote a statistic of Australia having the highest amount of unpaid overtime in the developed world (on an island in the South Pacific, your employment options are somewhat 'limited'). Seems that there is a growing trend for people to start 'downshifting'.

Basically it is a matter of not working yourself into the ground and taking leisure time over extra income (how that exactly works in Sydney - 4th most expensive city in the world to live in, beats me).

A quote from a recent article on the subject:

http://radar.smh.com.au/archives/2005/08/australian_idle.html

is:

'The true cost of my car was not the $50,000 I paid for it, but the lives of those 14-year-olds who worked in the mines'

I wonder what sweat shop my shoes came from....

Disney Irony

2005-07-28T21:09:00.000+10:00

This was actually pointed out to my by the staff at my security job. The Disney studios that I applied for a job at and made it to the last round, is actually closing down (full details here - http://abc.net.au/news/items/200507/1423134.htm?nsw).

Life has a funny way of things working out. If I had of been successful, I would have quit a really good security job, been employed with Disney for a month before finding out that I was without work. I guess that answers the question as to whether or not I would reapply for Disney in 6 months.

Or ... if I was an ego-maniac, when the powers that be at Disney found out that I wasn't hired, they closed the studio down :P

Something Wicked Publication

2005-07-07T13:23:00.000+10:00

For those who were reading the blog when it first started back in December 2004 will remember me talking about an 8 page comic story that I had just completed. Well I just received a copy of it and it is a pretty kick arse book ... not that I wouldn't be biased.

Basically it is a whole bunch of Australian Comic artists putting together a whole bunch of short 'horror' stories. The printing quality is rather slick and at 100 pages A4 size, $14.95 Australian is a good price. For those in Sydney, you should be able to get it from Kings Comics on Pitt Street in the city. For those overseas, you can buy it from this website:

http://www.phasetwocomics.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=155

Not convinced, here are a couple of preview pages to check out (my art is actually shown in the 3rd photograph):

http://pulpfaction.net/wicked/

Here is the cover so you know what to look for:

The Big Scan of 2005

2005-07-07T13:09:00.000+10:00

Been a little quite on the blog for the last couple of weeks. Still unpacking and getting things sorted. I also have a little bit of a phobia about the house burning down one day and losing all photos and artworks (about 80% of my photos I have made digital and have back ups at various locations around the city).

However, a lot of my early art, pre-2000, I've never made digital copies (ie scanned into a computer) as my old scanner was too slow and I didn't have the time. Recently picked up a new scanner which is much faster and given now I have a DVD burner, storage is less of a problem. I thought I would only have about 20-30 drawings to scan. As I was unpacking, I kept finding old drawings and sketches. Thus 30 became 100+.

Most of my stuff is at least twice as big as my scanner, so have to scan in pieces and put together in photoshop (ie takes time - largest one was 20 scans that had to be 'seamed' together and certainly was pushing my computer). A couple of weeks later and I'm done.... well not quite, just feed up with doing it and now have digital copies of 85% of my art - that I know of.

One piece I found was this colouring in competition that I actually won for the 1987 Lismore Public School Family Fun Night - I was 9 years old at the time. My prize was a He-man and the Masters of the Universe Popup Board Game (remember how Pop-up books were all the rage at one time ... now if it isn't Playstation, forget it)

Batman Begins

2005-06-22T20:29:00.000+10:00

Recently things have been a little on the slow side - just sorting through my old drawings, scanning them and sorting out my digital archive (slow process but once completed, I'll have everything I want fitting into a CD case).

Otherwise, I went and saw Batman Begins the other day and it was pretty good! The story at least had some layering to it and was really surprised at who played Jim Gordon (you'll just have to see it to know who it is). I wasn't nuts about Liam Nesson casting as he has just been the same similar character in too many movies (Star Wars, Kingdom of Heaven and now this).

Also saw Madagascar and it was on the ordinary side, much the same way as Shark Tale. The story line just seemed to be very 1 dimensional, kiddy, Disneyish (with nothing for adults) - they really needed to do more with the penguins!

More interesting stuff in coming weeks ... promise.

The Neglected ....

2005-06-14T15:14:00.000+10:00

Almost been two weeks since an update - how horrible :(

A combination of factors - unpacking and getting things sorted, studying for things (First Aid course etc) and managed to get some fantastic art instructional DVDs from America (now watched all 8 of those at 2+ hours each and got some fantastic ideas).

This is just a quick update and here was a creature sketch that I did at work a couple of weeks ago.

Disney - "Regret"

2005-05-28T14:10:00.000+10:00

"Regret" was about the only word I needed to see when I opened the letter from Disney yesterday to know that I wasn't successful (that and the fact I'd received a letter rather than a phone call). Naturally bummed and disappointed about it all but more so just relieved. I'd spent the last couple of days going nuts wondering all about it.

Thus I came down to the last 30 in the application process and 'fell' at the last hurdle. Still a little to close to the 'event' to know what to do now, and whether I'd go through the process again. To spend so much time on the application for no result is a bit hard to take.

In the mean time, just can't wait to get a space set up to do some proper drawing and painting.

Up in 'da Mountains

2005-05-22T16:50:00.000+10:00

This was the first weekend in awhile that I’ve had to myself and didn’t have to worry about Disney drawings, trying to find work and/or a place to live. One thing I’ve always wanted to do was have a look around the mountains just outside of Sydney. I’ve travelled between Sydney and Western New South Wales too many times to remember. Thus I’ve been through the mountains many times but never stopped for a looksy.

I managed to get a new toy for my iPod as a work around to the problems that I’m having with my camera – thus I’m back to taking as many photos as I like while out and about (I feel free again – yippee!). So naturally, here are some of the better photos from the day.

First up is a view looking back towards Sydney itself (ie looking east). Downtown Sydney is about 50km away from here and just past it is the Pacific Ocean. Between this spot and downtown Sydney are all the suburbs of Sydney.

In this photo you are looking south onto all the mountain peaks going far into the distance. A combination of sandstone and other rocks. Hard to think once all this rock was at the bottom of the ocean.

This is somewhat typical of the Australian bush in places – sandstone rock outcrops lined with eculuptyus trees (trees that koala’s only live in)

Unfortunately the drive out took over 2 hours instead of about an hour (an overturned turn spilt soil all over the highway closing it down). Thus got a lot of photos around dusk and this was an interesting cloud pattern.

A few years ago when Sydney had some really bad bush fires, they ripped through this area. Thus this was an old wooden power pole that got burnt out and made for an interesting visual

Just something I found visually interesting about this composition and silhouette with people

Lasty something more humourous to end on. This tree when you look at it you can see somewhat of an animals head side profile (just look for the eyes, nose and mouth).

Star Wars - Episode III

2005-05-21T10:00:00.000+10:00

Went along and saw Episode III - Revenge of the Sith yesterday and it was great! No spoilers here but basically the first 5 movies have all been building up to this one. So this whole movie is the climax/pay off and it does so big time. It is also darker than the others.

We saw Episode III out at Fox Studios (were they actually filmed large chunks of II and III). This X-wing prop was right outside the cinema and was interesting to check out. The main reason for it was that textures and surfaces popping out of it were all painted onto it which was a little surprising.

Disney Drawing Test / Interview

2005-05-19T14:51:00.000+10:00

Went into Disney yesterday for the drawing test and interview. I was disappointed with the way I performed in it but more about that another time. Just thought I would put a few more of the submission images up on the blog.

Here is the full tug of war sequence between Goofy and Mickey. The original problem was to create a situation in 3 drawings of a tug of war between Mickey and Goofy. There was also a requirement to have some 'contrast' between the characters along with the usual entertaining and interesting aspect to it. Here they are:

The next two were again interupting the characters in situations from bad, grainny photocopies. The first one was a dude in a suit with and umbrella and a brief case.

This last one really bugged me for awhile. Originally the dodgy photocopy was of a person bent over doing aerobics like a strange star jump or something. I couldn't really think of anything so I started jumping up and down in front of a mirror and stretching in a similar way. Judy had mentioned the day before something about yoga and the penny dropped. Do a tie-chi like stretching activity and show a relaxed character.

In the whole submission, I wanted to show a 'range' of drawings in terms of expression and movement. Thus to have a situation with a character mediating or moving slowly or something was appealing. Here it is:

Disney - Round 3

2005-05-16T08:11:00.000+10:00

Received a call from Disney on Friday and into the next round. So this week I have to go in for a drawing test and interview - should be interesting.

Anyhow, here are a couple more of the submitted drawings (thanks to all the Tuesday Comic people who have sent comments - greatly appreciated!!). The first one was to take an image of a golfer and do something with it. Enter Goofy and exit this image:

The following image is one from a series of 6 drawings that effectively had to be sequential. No point really explaining it beyond that as it wouldn't make sense without the other 5 drawings.

Disney Drawings

2005-05-12T11:13:00.000+10:00

Here are some of the drawings I submitted to Disney. The first one you were given a hazy photocopy of a dude with a basketball and asked to translate it how you saw fit as either Mickey or Goofy. The photo had the basketball player, ball overhead about to pass. I thought taking the same pose and modifying it with pants falling down would be a real 'Goofy' moment:

This one, you were told that Mickey and Goofy were having a tug-of-war and to develop the situation over 3 drawings. This was the 2nd drawing for this series. One of the big problems I had was not knowing what type of line to use. The Disney brief said not to use a hard line and also not to use a sketchy line (doesn't really leave much in between). As was later explained to me after I submitted, they are after a 'confident' line (thanks Jozef). Hopefully I was in the ball park

The following one, you were told that Tigger was in a row boat, to try to develop a situation (also trying to take account of the boat and it reacting to water), and make it humourous / entertaining (that seemed to be an underlying tone in the submission guidelines. It wasn't enough just to get the characters and proportions, but to also create interesting situations and images that were visually interesting / funny).

Another Tigger one, this time one had to have a humourous situation of Tigger climbing barbed wire fence.

Those are just a couple of the drawings and would love to get any feedback on them - were they funny, interesting or do they fall into the Gary "Far Side" Larson category of "I don't get it". If people are interested in seeing more, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

P.S. All images are copyright Disney

Creature Sketches

2005-05-11T14:13:00.000+10:00

Handed in the Disney submission yesterday so now had a chance to scan a couple of sketches from a couple of weeks ago. These are a couple of creature sketches. Hopefully in the next day or so I'll be up to put up a couple of the images that were submitted. Enjoy.

Drawin' Away

2005-05-08T11:08:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post as not much else has been happening but drawing. Pretty much spent every possible moment over the last week or so working on my Disney application. Only a couple of days to go now and reminds me a lot of studying for exams during uni (only that I'm enjoying drawing). Hopefully back to something a little more 'normal' in the next couple of days. Back to Goofy.

What the Bleep Do We Know?

2005-05-01T23:56:00.000+10:00

Been working pretty solidly on my Disney application but had a bit of a break today and popped out to the cinema and saw "What the Bleep Do We Know". It was brilliant and highly recommend anyone to check it out.

The skinny on it is that it is a kinda documentary mixed with a bit of drama. It is about Quantum Physics but before everyone gets scared and runs away, it is a version for the layman (with some really great analogies and visuals to explain it all). The ideas are put into simple terms and it is pretty interesting.

For further info, check out its website:

http://www.whatthebleep.com/

It seems to have limited release so for those in Sydney, it was on at the Newtown Dendy.

Back to Goofy.

Disney Update

2005-04-27T10:15:00.000+10:00

"We thank you for applying with high quality drawings but unfortunately we are unable to continue any further with your application".

At least that is what I thought the letter from Disney was going to say that appeared yesterday. The letter instead said that they wanted to see more of my work in a couple of weeks and to submit some samples of their characters - so I've made it to the next round - YIPEEE!!!

So for the next couple of weeks, I should be hiding in a cave wearing away many pencils and filling some sketchbooks. For so my friends in Sydney that I haven't caught up with after returning back to Syndey, it will be a little longer yet (but I'm sure you understand).

Cheers.

Up Late

2005-04-26T04:56:00.000+10:00

Working night shift tonight so needed to stay up all night to 'reset' my body clock. So thought I would do a couple of digital paintings with a limited colour palette. The first one was pretty unsuccessful while this one, not brilliant, at least feels like a step in the right direction. Those who have been paying attention will recognise the sketch from when it was posted while I was abroad (was never intended for a painting and would change certain things with hindsight)

Middle Head

2005-04-24T21:51:00.000+10:00

The other day I went out to a place in Sydney Harbour called ‘Middle Head’ which I knew of but hadn’t been to before. The day after I got back to Australia, my digital camera kinda broke so I can’t transfer pictures directly to my iPod. I actually have to use another digital camera hooked up to my computer - how annoyment!

In short, it means I am very limited in the number of photos I can take. I would normally take several hundred photos in a location like this to experiment with composition to get the best shot. I almost feel naked being limited to 40 photos!

Basically Middle Head was a military barracks leading into Sydney Harbour. Thus it had large guns here to destroy any unwanted ships trying to get into Sydney Harbour. This is a general layout of part of the area. It is a little surreal with the rolling forms.

Another shot with people to try to give a sense of the size of the place.

Another place and curious trying to figure out why the mounds slope in the ways that they do. The closest I can come up with is that it would be easier to move equipment around but doesn’t make much sense. Cutting the stone on those angles would be much more difficult than having square shapes.

Guns use to sit in this type of circular embankments and were on rails to move around. Thus the weapons could point to North or South Head

Disney - Attempt 1

2005-04-19T19:25:00.000+10:00

When I first got back to Australia, I had a funny feeling Disney Australia had their recruitment around this time of year. I checked the usual places that would carry the advertised positions. Nothing. So I didn't think anything further of it. I randomly popped into one of the art schools here in Australia late yesterday afternoon and saw the recruiting ad. At first I thought it would be dated from last year, looking exactly the same.

Nope, cut off date was 19th April. I thought that was the same day I was staring at it. Actually turned out to be the next day. I had to work last night so couldn't do anything about it. This morning, got up early, went across the city to get my drawings from storage, came back and sorted them out (had help from Judy as she would be a lot more objective about the work).

Next up, had to put together an 'art' resume - a lot more interesting than my security and engineering resumes. Couldn't print it. You had to send in photocopies of artworks and naturally the photocopies weren't showing up the detail and looked terrible. So went into the city and after stuffing around with colour photocopy settings (at $2 a copy), Judy had this genuis idea of reducing the contrast, rather than boosting it and the result was some sweet photocopy drawings.

Next up, applications had to be at a PO Box today so went to that post office where they would be and tried to sweet talk the staff. Hopefully that worked. Now it is all in the hands of the gods.

It was interesting going back through a selection of drawings and I still have so much work to do on the figure. I wasn't planning on applying for Disney until the end of the year but hey, blind stupid luck right?! I might be my own worst critic and while the drawings I submitted were good, I know I can do much better now (I had to get life drawings that I did in the 1st half of last year).

If something comes of it, great ... if not, I won't be surprised. Here is hoping though cause I've been back, already found a new security job but just can't take it ... must find something else.

Australia - Unaffordable

2005-04-14T23:28:00.000+10:00

Ok, a little bit of a rant session. Over the last decade or so, it has felt that housing in Australia, or at least Sydney, has become an impossible reality for my generation. Now for some numbers that prove it. An article that I found online about the most unaffordable cities in the world to live in:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Sydney-and-Melbourne-homes-just-not-affordable/2005/04/13/1113251680813.html

Of the top 17 cities listed as unaffordable, 6 are in Australia. Why is this?

Well a decade ago, some genius decided to change the foreign ownership laws in Australia. Before, only 25% of an apartment building could be owned by foreign interests. This was changed to 75% which means a lot of money from Asia flowed into Australia. Simple economics - supply is the same but demand has gone through the roof, which means prices can only move up.

I find it EXTREMELY offensive that I can't afford to buy a property in my own country but foreign interests can.

Then we have politicans talking about how to make housing affordable in Australia. If they are serious about this, they would immediately change this horrible law they passed years ago. That isn't about to happen so we will go on hearing these empty sound bites on the news about how they are concerned about the problem. Give me a break!

These days if you can find a 2 bedroom apartment in a dodgy part of Sydney for under $500,000 - you'd be doing well. It isn't like our incomes are much higher to justify this, actually the opposite is true. I was amazed to find out that a teachers starting salary in Canada was around $40,000pa. In Australia, you'd be lucky if a teachers starting salary was $30,000.

Future of the Blog

2005-04-12T15:26:00.000+10:00

Originally the blog was setup just to record my ramblings while out there in that big bad world. I get the feeling that a number of people are now reading this and I’m inclined to continue it. I’ve come back to Sydney and see it differently, want to explore more and post photos here.

Also inclined to post artworks and sketches as I go along (a lot of work that doesn’t make it onto my more ‘formal’ website). Would love to hear people’s thoughts and comments on this – either make posts here or email me.

See ya on da flip side,
Matt

Back in Sydney

2005-04-12T15:14:00.000+10:00

Got off the plane at 0600am and the humidity hit me. At that time in the morning, it was already 18 degrees. Funny to think that the really warm days I had in Canada barely got up to this in spring and it is warmer in Sydney in our Autumn. The last couple of days have ranged between highs of 25-30 degrees.

I don’t know whether it is the heat or jetlag or combination of both, but been needing to go to bed early over the last little bit. Although I’ve been pretty fortunate with jetlag and in tandem with time zones, managed to ‘steal’ a couple of days (although got onto a plane Wednesday in Canada and got off it Friday in Australia – where the hell did Thursday go?)

Where to From Here?

2005-04-12T15:03:00.000+10:00

Travelling had many goals and purposes, and consequently I never really planned beyond the trip. I think in the medium term, it is not a matter of ‘if’ I get to Canada, but a matter of ‘when’. The goal now is to be back in one shape or form within 5 years.

More immediately a matter of finding work and a place to live. A couple of options and things to follow up with.

In terms of travel, feels like horizons are much further broadened and want to travel a lot more. Interested in learning Spanish and heading to Mexico and South America, Asia and India have appeal and heck, even travelling more in Australia are possibilities. Now to figure out priorities and how to pay for it all.

End of the Road – Surreal

2005-04-12T14:59:00.000+10:00

After going about a little today, it started to hit me about what has just happened with regards to the trip and travelling. It just all seems very surreal. Ever since I left Canada 14 years ago, I always wanted to return and see old friends. A goal that had always remained with me one way or another.

Now that has been achieved.

Really hard to describe when you hold onto a goal for that long and never think it will happen, and then it does. Just unbelievable. It was everything I could have ever hoped for, then topped with a couple of extra bonus.

Day 94 - Long Road Home

2005-04-12T14:47:00.000+10:00

They say that all good things must come to an end. I guess this trip is no different, although I view it as just another journey that has been undertaken in this game of life that we play. I looked out the window and thought this was an interesting photo so naturally took it.

The plane ride gave me lots of times to reflect over things and it has been a truly amazing experience. I generally wouldn't have had the trip any other way .... although a couple of people I would have liked to have seen in Canada but didn't happen ('next time' I tell myself).

This was something that I saw at the end of the museum yesterday and it has a certain appealing ring for me, maybe a good way to leave things.

I've Figured Out Numbers and What Their For...

2005-04-10T11:29:00.000+10:00

Some interesting numbers from the trip:

26,000 - number of miles allowed on my airfare
25,943 - number of miles used on my airfare
14,419 - number of photos I took while away (yes that is 14,419 and not a typo)
536 - number of kept emails to download when arriving home
225* - number of blog entries
206 - number of photos on the blog
184 - number of journal pages in my ultra microscope print
93 - number of days away
55 - number of hours just spent actually flying
14 - number of years in between seeing friends in Canada
13 - number of countries that I went to
12 - number of kilos lost while in Europe
8 - number of times I used one worthless Eurail Pass
6 - number of kilos gained when finding Old Dutch Chips in Canada
5 - maximum number of years before I’m in Canada again
2 - number of journals that got full while travelling
1 - Life a whole less ordinary from the experience
0 - my favorite number, the amount of things I had stolen – I am a master of blind stupid luck!

* estimate

For everyone out there in blog land, this is not the last entry! Still got a couple of ‘wrap up’ areas to cover and readjusting back to the ‘normal’ life. Watch this space for more details soon.

American Immigration

2005-04-10T11:26:00.000+10:00

Thus my time abroad has come to an end and now for the long road home. British immigration gave me a hard time almost deliberately while American immigration, they did it out of stupidity – unbelievable.

When I got to Vancouver, from a Calgary flight, I couldn’t really figure out where to go and everyone was vague with instructions. I was asking security, airline desks, information and all the rest of it. Finally someone gave me the run down that I had to go through US immigration.

I didn’t understand. Why do I need to go through US immigration if I am going to Australia? Eventually it clicked to me, because the plane goes through Honolulu, Hawaii. So I go to the control area, wait in line. Get to the front of the line and then told I have to fill out some forms – on a desk near the entrance – crap.

The guy was really unhelpful as to which ones and all the rest of it. He was ticked off cause I didn’t know what to do but then when I asked questions to find out, he got even more ticked off. So filled out the form, went to the back of the line, waited again, then saw the guy.

More attitude and problems. He said that I needed a visa. I said I was going to Australia. He said I still needed a visa for Australia. So I flicked over the front of my passport and pointed it to him. He said “SO”. Thus I pointed to the text “Australia” and he said I still needed a visa for Australia.

I was dumbfounded! I said to him that I was an Australian citizen and didn’t need a visa for Australia. He said that I did. I couldn’t get over it. So I asked him to call someone and they quickly clarified it. He let me continue onwards.

How could someone working in US immigration not know this or be so thick to think a citizen needs a visa to be in their own country? It just got worse going through security screening. They wouldn’t tell you anything, get ticked off when you did the wrong thing and get more ticked off when you asked questions. Generally they were rough about the whole process and really arrogant.

Eventually got to the departure gate and got called over. I was listed as “DO NOT BOARD” because I didn’t have a visa. I flashed the guy my Australian passport and the guy swore under his breath. There were another 10 passengers for the flight that had the same problem and one got the distinct sense this is a frequent occurrence. The Canadian apologised for the problem and let me get onto the plane.

Day 93 - Glenbow Museum

2005-04-10T11:24:00.000+10:00

Holly had mentioned this was a good museum to check and this concurred with my guidebook. I walked into the museum and asked for a ticket and the dude at the counter asked student or adult? I said adult unless he wanted to give me the student price. He said “OK” and gave me the student price – bonus – must try this remark again some time.

Started on the 2nd floor and generally had pieces from Calgary’s early days as they related to resources of the province. I saw this early model chainsaw and from a design point of view, love the rugged, raw industrial feel that it has.

Next up wondered up another level and they had the development of Calgary area since the first white man appeared on the land. They had a couple of tipi displays that you could go into and a commentary on how you had to earn the right to be able to paint certain designs through elaborate ceremonies. That was kinda interesting cause if someone told me I couldn’t draw something, that would almost be the first thing I’d try (reverse psychology stuff).

The display then continued around the varying decades and the 1900s was interesting. They had the old washboards and then the ‘new and improved’ washing machines. Here is a picture of one of the new labour saving devices.

The interesting thing was the promotional material from the 1910s promoting the benefits of the newer washing machines. It is always fascinating to see the marketing techniques from various periods. They relied on upselling the benefits of the product with illustrations where as today, most products seem to be sold on the basis the target market is stupid and will pay attention to sex.

Finally managed to see the old style refrigerator after hearing about these things for years. Basically this is from about the 1920s and you put ice or cold water in the top cylinder compartment. This helps to keep the whole thing cool.

On the next level up was a 5 century warriors display and more great reference material. They also had this bit of ivory which I thought was pretty ironic given my rant yesterday about it. The tusk itself was huge. This was either from one massive elephant or possibly a woolly mammoth – it was about 2m long.

Next up was a rock display and the coolest part was this florescent / glow in the dark rocks. Here are some lights on and off photos of the same rocks so you get an idea.

Around the place was various painting and photography exhibits which I found really interesting. The artists were working from predominately a European tradition but adapting it to the Canadian wilderness and environment. Next time in Canada, I’ll have to come during summer so I can get out doors for some landscapes.

Last up was an African art exhibit. This was particularly interesting as they had numerous woodcarvings with exaggerated features. Seeing this, you could understand Picasso’s style as just a westernised version of African art.

The Hosts with the Mosts

2005-04-06T14:26:00.000+10:00

While at the zoo today, had plenty of time to start reflecting upon things. While going to some wonderful museums and seeing great things in Europe, I think the places I've enjoyed the most have been the ones with friends. Even if it was nothing more than just sittin' around and chillin', great times.

I think these people deserve a special mention and a little thank you here. The 'Honour Roll' is:

Averil & Rob "Matt, you are the last person I ever thought would visit me in France" Booth

Kira "Matt, what timing to be able to help me with my painting" Muldoon

Linda & Terry "Matt, she kicked me out! I'm a boll weevil!" Allen

Trent "Matt, they know I could write an opinion piece" Allen

Vie "Matt class, cheated on a test in my class all those years ago" Profit

Holly "Matt, there really isn't that much to do in Saskatoon" Farski

Les "Matt, I forgot I had to look after my niece" Saskowski

And the sun will rise another day ....

2005-04-06T14:16:00.000+10:00

Thought I would wander out and catch my last sunset while in Canada. I was at a skate park at the time and it was great to see all sorts of kids out and about ... away from the video games. This was an interesting full pipe and great to watch some of the kiddies attacking it.

One area of photography that I haven't really played around with seriously is 'sports' photos. Thought I would have a little bit of a tackle at it given there was the guy doing some serious tricks in front of me. Kinda turned out. The dude is going up the side of the ramp, jumping off his bike and letting it spin around several times (and he landed this one).

Here is the final sunset. I think I'll let it speak for itself.

Day 92 - Calgary Zoo

2005-04-06T13:19:00.000+10:00

Got up and my last full day in Canada / abroad was a great day to be outdoors. Thus it was off to the Calgary Zoo in search of a moose :P My guide book made a major boo-boo. It was meant to be a half price day at around $5.00. Was full price day at $16 ... just a little difference.

Walked in and it was off to the North America section in search of a moose. Saw mountain goats, bison, lots of deer of various species, sheep, foxes, wolves and finally a moose! This was about as active as it got however:

Incidently with the wolves enclosure, the zoo keeper was throwing sticks into it and the wolves were just pouncing on them and crunching them up. Apparently for the reason that it was just a foreign object in their territeary - see below

One thing I was really surprised with was seeing a porcupine. I just thought that they would be a similar animal to Australia's eckidna having a similar defense mechanism - spikes. Actually they are very different creatures. Porcupine is much bigger with spines like fine bits of hair. Eckidna has more bulky needle like structures. This is a porcupine ... asleep... didn't move from this position. A couple of others further around the corner were doing the same thing.

The other main thing I wanted to see where bears. There was a good description on the difference between Black and Grizzly Bears. Like most other animals, they were asleep and not doing much. Did manage to catch a few Black Bears coming out of their cave long enough to have a look around before going back into the cave.

Managed to see some cougars wandering around for a bit before looking for a place to sleep. Next off to the prehistoric area. This had dinosaur models ... didn't have to feed them much. Unfortunately the whole display was based upon the idea of being around a swamp land.

However, in Calgary, water freezes during the winter, so the 'lake' was drained so as not to damage the place. It does however kill the effect a little bit.

Maybe I've been spoilt with the Dubbo Zoo where I lived, but the elephant enclosure here didn't inspire me. You had 4 large elephants in a very small space. These are the sorts of creatures that really need to move about. It was also interesting to see the capping on this elephant. I can only hypothesis as to its purpose as I couldn't find a zookeeper around to ask questions

This was an elephant tusk / ivory that has been carved. Interesting to note the context on this. Recently I've seen wonderfully detailed carved ivory in museums and admired the craftsmanship. Here I see it in an animal/zoo context, an somewhat disgusted at the notion. Maybe because it just looks far too much like an elephants tusk.

This was a creature I didn't even know existed but such a striking colour. It is a Red Panda. Kinda like a giant cat but more stocky.

While I was in the nocturnal area, came across this frog and knew it was going to make some great photos - just loved the light on it.

I'd pretty much covered the whole zoo so thought I'd walk into the Australian section. Had some other people coming into the room and trying to name various animals and couldn't get any of them. Was interesting to notice just how well you know your own local fourna and flora as I could name them exactly. Also just shows how different the local critters are that we take for granted.

Did manage to see a tree kangaroo which I'd never seen before. I looked on the distribution map to see where in the world they live ... and not in Australia. That was kinda curious given you only find other kangaroos in Australia.

The Calgary Zoo certainly was worth visiting. The guide book mentioned it was one of the better ones in North America. Maybe I'm bias, but the Dubbo Zoo I still feel is better than this. The animals have more space, the enclosures feel better laid out with a wider variety and diversity of animals (just no bears, wolves or moose).

Day 91 - Kicking Back

2005-04-05T16:13:00.000+10:00

Purely a lazy day. Some mental barrier with just getting past Day 90 - like 3 months abroad or something (for some reason I consider a month to be 30 days). Was just kicking around in the morning catching up on some diary entries.

Les ended up babysitting his niece and some other friends came over for a BarBQ ... ah more real food! At the point now that I probably just can't stomach any more junk food .... hopefully ever. Just kicking back and relaxing.

I jumped on a bus and headed back to Calgary for the night. Got back to the hostel a little before midnight. Hopefully get a good night sleep for my last full day abroad tommorrow.

Day 90 - Another Friend in Red Deer.

2005-04-05T16:03:00.000+10:00

Got up early this morning and went for a walk over to the north side of the city. Funny that once you get across the river, development kinda ends. Means that you can get some interesting photos of the city like this one.

Afterwards I was able to get ahold of another school friend who is in a city called Red Deer about 2 hours north of here. So I jumped onto a bus and ended up in Red Deer. Got off the bus and took a split second to recognise my old friend Les. Red Deer itself lives off oil. Naturally with high oil prices, there is now a lot of activity happening in this part of the world.

We went over to one of his friends house and just hung out for a bit before heading out to a Chinese buffet. Afterwards went back to his house and crashed out watching Wrestlemania off the satelite (haven't done that since the last time I was in Canada - de ju va and blind stupid luck).

Followed this up with Mike Moore's "Roger & Me" that I'd been wanting to see for some time. Basically it is his 1989 film about GM and his hometown Flint - has all the elements of Bowling for Columbine and Farenhiet 9/11. Certainly makes you think twice about the whole shareholders, companies and employees.

Day 89 - Cowboy Town

2005-04-03T13:53:00.000+10:00

Calgary is kinda like a giant Tamworth, cowboy sort of city. The tourist information guides at the airport are all walking around with cowboy hats and it isn't out of place to see numerous people with these types of hats. Eventually got going this morning and a block away from the hostel is this mural which I really like:

I was walking around today with the aim of taking some photos, more beautiful blue sky. I heard a band start playing, ah de ja vu with all the times this has happened before leading to some blind stupid luck. I walked around the corner and there was a full military ceremony.

Basically, it was the 95th aniversary of some division so they were being welcomed into the city. They had an array of army personal carriers. This was cool cause I just stood in one spot, they were driving past slowly so I could get lots of reference photos of vehicles without even having to move from my spot.

After this I continued to wonder down to where Fort Calgary was ... or what was left of it. This was pretty much the extent of it.

Right next to the fort was this building. It was a reconstruction of the original police/RCMP barracks which currently houses a museum on the history of Calgary that I went into. Inside it was lots of reconstructed rooms and time periods similar to the Western Development Museum that I saw in Saskatoon.

The thing that struck me about Calgary and Saskatoon is that they aren't really old cities in the scheme of things. Calgary was nothing until the first police outpost in 1883 and Saskatoon was formed around the same time.

I guess coming from Australia, the large cities (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne) all grew out of penal villages almost right away. America's discovered in 1492 and ok things probably didn't get going until the 1600s but not having settlements (not even cities) forming until the late 1800s just seems really strange. Although it is interesting to note this was on the back of the 'coming of the railway' so I guess there are access considerations.

Anyhow, 'nuff about that. Next up wandered further down south and came to this stadium, the Saddledome. Naturally it is appropriate in a cowboy like city to have your main sports stadium in the form of a saddle.

Been wandering around for a bit so thought I would head back to the hostel for a breather and to recharge my camera batteries. Along the way I took this photo which I kinda liked.

Calgary at night is relatively dead. The main downtown area is closed with next to nothing open. I had problems finding something to eat last night as all convience stores, restaurants (including McDonalds) seemed to be closed by 2100. Only thing opened where smoke filled pubs.

My guidebook did manage to point me in the direction of this large garden area ... on the 4th floor of a building! It was huge with plants, water fountains, fish, sculptures etc all over the place. This photo just shows a tiny little section. The great thing about it was it was deserted. I had the whole place to myself. Occasionally a security guard would walk past but that was about the extent of it.

The garden also had this cool sculpture from the 1850s. Unfortunately it was in a hard spot to look at, let alone photograph.

Saskatoon Summary

2005-04-03T02:30:00.000+10:00

It was amazing to see Holly again, meet her husband and her parents. Saskatoon per say isn't really a 'tourist destination' and the guide book made no bones about that. That didn't really bother me, it was just great hanging out with an old friend!

The city itself was pretty friendly and cool. I generally like the consideration that people seemed to be showing on another. When the snow was melting and becoming dry and dusty, reminded me a lot of things in years gone by.

I enjoyed my time and now looking, unfortunately, to the end of an amazing couple of months.

Day 88 - Lazy Day

2005-04-03T02:22:00.000+10:00

Originally thought I had to catch a flight at 0655am but actually misread it and turned out to be 1855pm - glad about this one as I really didn't feel like getting up at like 4am! So today was just a lazy day - just kickin' back, relaxin, and trying to work out my CV for when I get back (yeap, sad but true I am thinking about it now).

In the afternoon I was just looking at some photos of Holly's from our junior high and beyond. Some people haven't changed that much while others were hardly recognisable. It is funny how you can always remember someone by a smile, a pair of glasses, freckles or how they carry themselves. It was also interesting to see people that I knew from a slightly different angle.

Was interesting to think about the number of people that I know from the Canada years, various high schools and the many years in college. On the one hand, it might be a nostalgia kick, on the other, maybe just a memory for people (shame it doesn't work as good these days).

Day 87 - Part II

2005-04-03T02:11:00.000+10:00

After the Western Development Museum, Holly dropped me down town for a bit of a look around. She managed to find this art supply store hiding in a back lane so like a moth to the flame, I was there. It was interesting to see the brands that they did and didn't have. There was a blank jigsaw puzzle that you could 'create' on and then use as a jig saw - I came really close to buying a few things like this but managed to resist temptation.

I went into a couple of the smaller, local art gallerys/shops to get a feel for what was happening locally. There were some interesting pieces but in one location, the lady that was there was interesting. I thought she was about 60 but she turned out to be 82 years old. Basically she had worked full time until she was 75 and then worked part time in the gallery which her son owned. There really seems to be something to be said for remaining active in life.

My timing in Canada has been a little idea in terms of catching the change of seasons. Was in The Pas while freezing but starting to warm up (enough to make a snow man) and Saskatoon while the snow is really beginning to melt. At this transition in seasons, the place can become really dirty/dusty/brown as in this photo of the main street of Saskatoon.

Holly picked me up and a little later on we picked up her husband and went to a semi- grill like steak house - I guess that is the best way to describe it. I had this thing which was a little like a pizza rolled up into a sandwich with lots of cheese. It reminded me a lot of the racklet I had in France with Rob and Averil - very heavy. When we got back to the house, didn't even feel like the wonderful chocolate cake that Holly had made :(

Quickie - In Calgary

2005-04-02T14:14:00.000+10:00

Missed a day or so and will update at a later date (been spoilt with home computers and now back to internet cafes). Had a great time in Saskatoon with Holly and amazing to catch up with someone like that! Another awesome friend who went to great lengths to make sure I was enjoying and getting out an about.

Was thinking of heading home but just couldn't bring myself to do it - not too often that I'm here so take the opportunity while at it. Thus I caught a plane and now have arrived in Calgary (where the winter Olympics were in 1988). I'm hoping to catch up with a friend just outside of Calgary but will depend upon what is happening with their work.

So here I am, 'backpacking' for one last time before returning down under and back to a kind of reality, on 'da flip side I guess.

Day 87 - The Zoo and Western Development Museum

2005-04-01T08:46:00.000+10:00

Up again this morning for breakfast with Holly and her folks at Tomas Cook. After yesterdays 'learning curve' with the huge pancakes and strawberries, thought I would go with the Egg Muffin. Maybe it is a sad state of affairs, but so hard not to put a 'Mc' infront of 'Muffin'.

First up we headed to the Saskatoon Zoo. It was a smallish zoo and I've probably been spoilt with the Dubbo Zoo where I use to live in Australia. In the Dubbo Zoo the animals are not in cages but have large areas to roam over.

Here is a wolf and much like most other animals in zoos, just sleeping the day away. As I discovered with the Dubbo Zoo, best time to go is around sunrise or late in the afternoon. The thing that surprised me about the wolves was just how big they are! They were significantly larger than German Shephards and the like.

Next up was the History of Western Development Museum - this was almost source material heaven! How I wish we had something like this in Sydney. They had an old main street from about the early 1900s with all kinds of buildings - banks, tailors, pharmacys etc and each were fully decked out with antiques and so forth. Here is the main street and each building you could walk into.

One thing I lament about our disposable consumer society today is the attention to detail and craftsmanship. Not only were things built to last in days gone by, but they had character and elegance. Take this stove for example, the detail and quality was just exquisite.

Some things also never change. This was taken inside the Women's Auxiliary and note the shoe's on sale/display - I may never understand the fascination with shoes. When I was working security in a shopping centre, the place could be dead but guaranteed, the shoe shops were always doing a roaring trade (the place would then go buzzurk the second a 'sale' label went up on the window).

I thought this photo was more interesting for lighting reference purposes. It is inside the train station and the dude is meant to be working a morse code signal thingy (off which were several).

The museum also had an interesting collection of restored cars. I'm not much of a petrol/gas head and look at things like this more so in terms of design. There is just something about the curves on old cars.

Day 86 - Its a Beautiful Day

2005-03-31T14:58:00.000+10:00

Started off the day with breakfast at Tomas Cook (not the travel company) with Holly and her parents. Saw the menu and thought the pancakes and strawberries would be a tiny little dish for $4.99 - I was a tad little on the wrong side. The strawberries were really fresh and lots of them, and the cream pushed me over the edge.

Today was just great day for photographs and the like. We went for a little bit of a wander around the riverbank. We came across this water fountain for adults, kids and dogs. I thought the part for dogs was a great idea (on the right hand side). Sometimes while walking dogs, they don't like to drink from running water or a persons cupped hand, so this makes perfect sense.

We ended up circling back to the Mendell Art Gallery that we went to yesterday. I went back into the green house type area and started taking some photos. Because it was so humid, my camera lens would fog up pretty quickly. Thus when I took photos, a couple of them turned out like that below - one of those little things that you stumble upon and note down for future reference. It just seems to accentuate the light, kinda like in a soap opera on tv (although, they use to use vaseline to get that hazy effect).

The others felt like doing some shopping while I wanted to take some photographs (I like to line up photos in certain ways so will wander around a bit to get a shot - really boring to anyone else but me). So I wandered around the city for a bit. Love blue sky days so had to go back to this church from yesterday to get a better shot.

I wandered down one side of the river, crossed one of the 7 bridges in Saskatoon, and wandered back up the other side. I came across this Prairie Dog (can't spell) which is kinda like a giant rat that stands up on its hind legs to see around.

One aspect of the buildings along the river front that strike you is the overall colour profile. You see the overall colours and an unusual combination of yellow, earth red, browns, whites and greys. Certainly is unique.

I saw this sign immediately and just thought that only in Canada could you have a sign like this right in the middle of the city. I looked around at the building it was next to and couldn't see any signs of danger ... but what would I know.

Later on I meet up with Holly and went out to the Synchrotron Microscope facility. Hoping that there might have been a little bit of a tour but not to be. Basically this microscope is the size of a building with the main accelerator being 170m in diameter.

In short, get electrons, apply lots of heat to make them go REALLY fast, fire them at whatever you are looking at, and you will be able to see down to a molecular level. Kinda think of it as X-rays for molecules. Afterwards back to the house for diner with everyone.

In the evening, I was vegging out in front of the TV. I don't watch a great deal of TV these days, but man cable/satelite TV here would be so dangerous! As bad as what Australian TV has become with ads and poor news coverage, just means that you switch off and don't watch it - maybe that indirectly is a good thing.

Day 85 - Sleepy Saskatoon

2005-03-30T15:19:00.000+10:00

Saskatoon has about 200,000 people and the guide book described it as offering next to nothing for the tourist to see and do. A little bit on the perfect side for me at this stage - a little 'touristed' (is that even a word?) out at the moment - although my host has been a little concerned about me getting bored while here.

So at the moment staying with Holly and her husband. Her parents happened to pop over in the morning, having also come from The Pas, for a bit of a visit ('Spring Break' here at the moment - just love how they have a funky name for the holiday - gives it a little bit more 'umph' to it all or something).

We got out the door and headed into the city for a bit of a look around the city. Architecturally, this place is an extremely interesting hybrid of styles. From my initial impressions, it is like taking European styles and putting a bit of a Canadian 'spin' on it.

First up is this church - St Johns I think. The colour of it is striking to say the least. I'm thinking the floor plan and layout would be a curiousity in itself.

Just a little further down from this was this hotel. For those people out there in blog land paying attention, what does the building remind you of? Have a check back through some of the Prague architecture - similarities. Basically built in the 1930s but was opened 3 years after completion - why? Depression and no money.

A curiousity that I never really considered before, what ended the depression? Great spending on WWII - will have to check out some numbers on this.

We went for a wander along the river and ended up at a small art gallery called the Mendall. It was really interesting to see local interpretations of landscape. A temporary exhibition of landscapes was directly referencing Rembrandt, although it was never spelt out anywhere explicitly.

But it struck me right away with the colour palette being utilised and then I saw the title of the exhibition - "Nightwatch". The exact same title as Rembrandt's famous 1642 painting that I saw in the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam.

This was in the main entrance and is life size. The whole thing is actually made out of barb wire and steel. I thought it was pretty cool and an interesting medium to be using.

This next photo is probably one of the stranger things I've seen. This 'greenhouse' was in a room just off from the art gallery. It was humid, colourful and had lots of tropical plants growing. Then you could look out the window and see the cold snow, dark browns, greys and overcast of the day outside.

Next up we wandered around to a tourist information centre which had an interesting overview of the formation of the city and its development. Afterwards we wandered over to the mall for some lunch before heading out to Holly's work in a microbiology lab.

This was actually quite curious. First up they have a tube system where samples from anywhere in the hospital can be placed and they will find there way via hydraulics to the lab. You know when you see a doctor, they take some samples, send it to a lab and get a whole bunch of results back, well this is one of those labs.

It was great to see to get an understanding of how it works and integrates/fits into the health system, along with having some fantastic explanations of machines and process (I'm always curious about how 'stuff' works). Holly tried to gross me out with some 'samples', didn't quite succeed. The tape worms looked like nasty little critters however.

Afterwards wandered around the university that the lab/hospital is attached to. This was another curious building in a Canadian mixtured flavour of building styles. The entrance looks like an archway to a gothic church, while the roof looks a little bit like a castle or something.

Holly managed to find the Geology building which had this funky permanent exhibition of live animals, various rocks and dinosaur bones. It was just in the entrance to one of the departmental buildings. One of my favorite dinosaur's skeleton of all time was on display here.

How I wished we had these bones on display in Sydney. In the Australian Museum in Sydney you have skeletons from current animals on display which are always interesting to draw (interesting to compare skeletal structures between humans and other creatures - ALOT in common once you know what to look for).

Day 84 - Another One of Those Travelling Days

2005-03-30T15:11:00.000+10:00

Around midnight I caught the bus from The Pas down to Winnipeg. Managed to get a bit of broken sleep on the 7 hour trek but felt horrible afterwards. In Winnipeg I managed to catch up with my stepmother and that was pretty interesting.

I got to the airport at Winnipeg to find that the plane was going to be about 3 hours late due to it having a mechanical failure and needing to be replaced ... I'm getting the feeling that planes are starting to pick up where my problems with trains left off. I must admit, I'd rather wait and get a new plane than be in one that decides to have a 'mechanical failure' mid flight.

Eventually got to my next destination and picked up by another old school friend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (middle of Canada, little to the west). One can never get over that feeling when you see an old friend for the first time in like 14 years. Seems like eons have passed and always wondered what it would be like to see people again.

The Pas Summary

2005-03-30T14:55:00.000+10:00

Strange, Bizzare, Friendly, Ironic and Nostalgic. Of all the places I've visited over the last 3 months, this is the only one that I probably didn't really want to leave. To some degree feels like something is left undone, unsaid and not finished. Maybe I'd never be right to leave this place, just too much a part of who I am.

People certainly made this place for me and was such a great time. The place kinda makes sense, something I can understand and feel like 'home'. The people here, first up the Allen's. Long time school friend and parents. I had a blast with these guys and just so appreciative of the time spent with them. My school teacher Vie Profit, ah ... people like this make the world go round.

The place certainly had a nostalgic kick to it, hence colouring my view with a degree of bias. Just something special to be able to go back to a place like this, after wanting to for so many years, and see it a fresh. I'd gotten taller, so the town felt like it got even smaller.

One person I meet up with all these years later made the comment that they always got the impression I'd left before I'd wanted to back in the 90s ... not sure I'd ever be ready to leave, but maybe I should to keep it special ...

Day 83 - Blind Stupid Matt

2005-03-30T13:26:00.000+10:00

Here it is, the last day in The Pas. Now people who know me know that I walk around in shorts in T-shirt in the middle of winter in Australia. Well this is a habit that I've continued in Canada (seriously, it isn't that cold). Here is some evidence:

Now some people might think it is a warm day or something. Here is a photo of me with Terry, the guy who took the photo. Notice how rugged up he is. Also note my hair blowing in the wind.

Can you spot the difference in this photo?

Terry on the right, and Terry Jnr on the left. Terry certainly is a character and just messing around here. Maybe a little bit of an in joke but I thought it was kinda funny.

Another day of Ski-dooing and Terry mentioned climbing to the top of the grain silo might be a place to get some good photos. The only part of the sentence that I really heard was 'good photos'. Now I don't handle heights well so I kinda got to the top, realised how high it was and couldn't wait to get down. The wind was blowing and really cold. But a photo as 'proof':

This was also pretty funny.

A cow looking at the window, searching for something... either that or the Canadian version of Mad Cow disease.

Ah what the heck, put in an 'action' shot of Blind Stupid Matt on a Skidoo:

Day 77 - Lost Day III - The Town and Moose Lake

2005-03-27T14:42:00.000+10:00

Today caught a ride into town so I could go around and take photos of the place at my leisure. Started off at the College, wandered down south (this area is hardly recognisable) before heading another 3km back into town. Ended up at the newspaper office where my friend works. Quickly did a cartoon of a local current event which everyone thought was humours, but couldn't really run it in the paper (could get sued).

Went with my friend to the next town over where he lives. It is actually called 'Moose Lake' and is an Indian Reserve. The place itself is really something else. The road heading out there is a gravel one that timber trucks use and would be horrible to travel everyday like my friend does.

We just hung out and was pretty cool. My friend has this program on tape called "Science Mystery Threatre 3000" or something like that. It is sooooo my sense of humour and absolutely wonderful. Basically they take a science fiction movie from the 1940s and there are voice overs heckling it for the whole movie - it is absolutely HILIARIOUS, gotta get hold of these when I get back to Australia.

Day 76 - Lost Day II - River, Mill & Lee

2005-03-27T14:09:00.000+10:00

A little trouble remembering what I did in the morning - think I was a little late up or something. Anyhow ended back over at Vie's place and her husband, Jim, took me for a drive over town and so forth. This photo is taken from the middle of the main river that runs through the town - The Saskatchewn River.

We have actually driven a truck onto the ice here and it is used as a crossing for a large part of the year, as well as people drilling a hole in the ice to go ice fishing. Don't have to worry about casting a fishing line. Just go to where ever the fish are and drill straight down - usually using some kind of a hand auger.

The Pas exists predominately because of one major industry, the paper mill (now called 'Tolko' and in previous incarnations during my time, also known as 'Manfor' and 'Repap' - which is actually paper spelt backwards). The mill is about 10km out of town and when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, it smells HORRIBLE.

I'd forgotten about the smell but it all came back to me all of a sudden on one wif. Apparently the bark gets mixed with oil and is burnt - which creates the smell and is what is coming out of the smoke stacks in the photos below.

Locals sometimes call it "the smell of money" as if the mill ever closes down, this town will probably shrink dramatically (happened to another town that I lived in further north called Leaf Rapids - the mine closed down and it is just a ghost town now). Funnily enough, today was the first time I'd ever been out around the mill.

The photo below just shows some of the logs before entering the mill. These are just some of them and there are multiple rows that stretch for a couple of kilometres. Railway tracks in the foreground but logs can also be shipped to the area on trucks - depending upon cost. Canada is a rather large timber country and timber is a classic victim of the USA's hypocritical "free trade" deal - why Australia just signed a Free Trade Deal with America is beyond me.

Here is just another section with the logs piled all the way up.

OK, maybe the nerd factor is entering in but this is the crane that is used to deal with this volume of lumber. Note how the cab is also on hydraulics and is extended to increase visiblity.

Headed back to Vie's for a roast dinner (man I was spoilt). Mrs Lee, my 8th grade English (Language Arts) and Health teacher also came over for dinner and it was interesting to catch up. She hadn't really changed a great deal, hair was a little shorter but still had the same sort of animated mannerisms.

Day 75 - Lost Day I - Vie Profit

2005-03-27T13:52:00.000+10:00

Ok, finally getting a few seconds to go back and blog the days that I missed out on. Somehow I haven't done anything majorly mind blowing but in this small little town, had so much to do.

Today I gave Vie a call and I was surprised when she knew, before I said anything, it was me. First time I'd used Canadian phones and the caller ID actually lists the persons name, not just their phone number. Also the first time that I'd spoken with her since probably grade 6 as had been emailing over the years.

So eventually went around to her house and was greeted by a German shepherd. Recognised my 6th grade teacher right away, no one can forget that smile :) Just chatting away for some time before heading over town and driving around, looking at the town.

Being a Saturday, managed to head over to the old Junior High that I spent 2 years at. The place literally hasn't changed, just older and falling apart. The table and chairs would be the exact same ones I sat in all those years ago. I was really disappointed that they'd painted over artworks on the walls that were put in during my time in the school. I was hoping to see them as there was a Batman one that I always found really interesting.

The other thing that really shocked me was a lack of computers. Apparently there is one computer lab but all those computers are 2nd hand from the high school when they get new ones. The real kicker is that there generally isn't internet access. These days, internet access would almost have to be as important as having a library. How can a school of this size not have internet access - just mind blowing!

Afterwards just drove around and were hoping to find a few people but they weren't at home. Just headed back to Vie's for a home cooked meal - how I've missed these. Such a nice change from fast food / things that can be easily cooked (particularly when you have a cook as good as Vie. Had Pickeral and Perogoes - one hadn't had since Canada and I don't ever remember the other one).

More Sunrise and the Beginning of the Snowman

2005-03-27T13:17:00.000+10:00

Some more sunrise photos that I didn't get a chance to put up earlier.

This one was interesting of the whole cloud pattern.

In the afternoon, killed and skinned a cow. Was definitely interesting to watch when it happens in the snow. Then went into town for some more town pictures. Came back for another ski-doo ride. It was a warm day, it got up to +3 degrees and the snow was melting somewhat. Thus the handling on the ski-doo was very different from yesterday.

The snow had melted enough and thought I would make a snow man. Unfortunately, the snow generally wasn't wet enough, apart from a small section under the ease near the garage. So I managed to build a snow man. I was stupid enough to have a goal of making it as tall as me. Biggest problem with that is trying to get one snow ball on top of the other. I had several attempts getting one ball on top of the other. Here I am a little tired.

I started to work into the snow man, kinda carving. One thing I loved about sculpture in art school was carving. So I could see myself having a lot of fun snow carving if/when I get to Canada next time. Also reminded me of ice sculpture we did in year 6 and 7, and at a local festival when guys would be carving ice with chain saws - something can't wait to try at some point in the future.

Day 82 - Sunrise

2005-03-27T04:02:00.000+10:00

When I first got to The Pas and went for 2 days without sleep (good jetlag), I noticed that the sunrise and early morning light was quite interesting. Stupid me thought 'oh, I'll get photos another day'. The 'problem' with this and being this far north when the days are really long, you have to get up really early in the morning to take photos.

Now those who know me know I'm not a morning person. So getting up this morning at 0600 am seemed like torture when I am voluntarily doing it (if I have to get up to catch a plane, whole different story). The light and the colours this morning was pretty amazing! I was even fortunate enough to have an interesting cloud pattern.

Naturally when I have a fantastic sunrise, in the opposite direction, I have a brilliant moon setting. Thus torn between what photo to take as getting into position was difficult (walking through snow that is above your knees is difficult and hard work).

I've also never been able to take a decent moon shot, even the ones last night were ordinary. But I've persisted and played around with camera settings and think I'm starting to get it sorted out. So here is one of the 1st half decent moon photos I've taken.

Always playing around and this shot turned out interesting - thought I better put one in otherwise people might not believe that I got up that early. Good thing about snow and ice, can be quite useful to make a temporary tripod in the middle of nowhere.

Day 81 - Ski-doo

2005-03-26T15:03:00.000+11:00

Today Terry, dude I'm staying with, fired up the ski-doo and let me loose with it :). In all the years that I was in Canada, I never got to drive a ski-doo and it was a hell of a lot of fun!! The photo below shows the ski-doo. You can also see my tracks where I was sinking down into the snow which was up to my knee. Hard to believe a machine that heavy just glides over the top of snow that I sink down into.

Here I am in full ski-doo glory outfit. The photo is screaming out for a caption something along the lines of "Take me to your leader". Generally always used the visor as the wind froze your face as one is motoring along.

The ski-doo handles a bit like a Go-kart on powdery snow here. For those who ever played Mario Kart, handles a little bit like that with fantastic suspension (see photo below for 'power-sliding' on the snow).

One thing about being in Canada and this area (out on a farm), is that the fields are giant, untouched snow areas. None of this compact snow from every man and his dog using it, I'm probably the first person all winter to be in this area.

So the photo below shows a little bit of the expanse of the land. Only problem is watching out for fences. Seeing the snow is about 2-6 foot deep, the ski-doo may actually go over the top of a barb wire fence. If the snow is a little low, might not go over the top of the fence which may make a mess of the machine and yourself.

My attention was drawn to the full moon out and I went to take some pictures (still haven't figured out how to take good moon photos yet). When I turned around and looked the other way, I thought the sunset and the farmhouse was pretty interesting.

Other than that, the other day someone mentioned something about my step brother who I lost contact with about 15 years ago. In a round about way, I managed to track him down and had an interesting chat on the telephone tonight. When you are like 1 of 10 kids, these things seem to happen for some strange reason. Ah ... where does the time go?

Vie Profit and I

2005-03-26T11:06:00.000+11:00

At the school I was meeting up with Vie. I saw some of the kids that I gave my art lesson to yesterday and they were still a buzz. A couple showed me other things they'd been working on and one girl was seriously talented. I'd checked out the art section in The Pas library and had one of the best art reference books (I'm surprised at some of the things I've found in the local library) so gave the little girl the reference.

Otherwise just hanging with Vie and she was trying to get me drunk again - persistant 'eh'? Here is the evidence:

Actually it is embellishing the truth a little. She has her own wine making kit so just had to syphon the wine from the 50 litre jug into individual bottles, without disturbing the yeast that had accumulated on the bottom.

Now you had to suck really hard to get it to flow properly. Thus I got a mouthful of wine, as shown in the picture below. Now I've probably got more wine in my mouth now than what I've ever had in my life. On top of this, Vie is asking me questions ... how the heck was I meant to answer?

Anyhow, best put allow people out in The Flip Side to put a face to the name. This is obviously us here:

So Vie is now off on 'Spring Break', away from all the little monsters like me. It was great to catch up with her after so many years and a little surreal just to be hanging out with my 6th grade teacher. Still, had a blast! Hopefully in the not too distant future, she will be down under having a holiday *hint hint*.

Day 80 - Around the World in 80 Days

2005-03-26T05:30:00.000+11:00

Well not quite all the way around the world in 80 days but sounded good. Today was pretty much a photo day. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I realised easter is this weekend - I thought it would have been a little bit later. Ah, as people are saying here, it is 'Spring Break' - yet still has a lot of snow on the ground. Just means not a great deal is open so spend the next couple of days chillin'.

There is just something about this place, whether it is this small country town or Canada in general, people make the place. I can stand 2m back from the curb yet cars will still stop to let you get across the street. When I was out taking photos down a street, cars would stop so as not to get in the way of the photograph (either that or they were stopping to check out some 'shifty' character) much like people would around tourists.

Even when walking around the street with a camera, random strangers would just make jovial comments and it is just awesome. I've now been around the town for a little bit to start to get into a couple of 'gossip' loops and you really get a feel for what is happening around the place. Such a welcoming sort of thing.

I guess when you live in a town/city/whatever, it really is a matter of not being able to see the forest from the trees. I often get the question "Why the hell would you come to The Pas?" What makes a person come to such a place with nothing to do... at least that is the implication that I read into it. Maybe I'm just a simpleton, but I can easily amuse myself and enjoy the general banter of everyday life.

Its funny to wander around the place here as every building in the town centre you can remember something about - what it was, things you did, people you use to know etc.

Anyhow in the afternoon I went back over to the junior high. Just happened to be in the school office (came in yesterday briefly and the person remembered who I was) and they had a photo that a fellow class mate took while I was standing right next to the guy taking the photo. I remember when he developed the photo in the photography class, I was wondering how he managed to get this photo. I was standing right there but didn't see the same thing.

It was a great photo and an image that always remained burned into my head, just had such an imprint. Funny to see it after all these years. It has been hanging there for 15 years and people probably don't think much about it.

Yet when I look at it, just see something so different - even the little story that went along with it. My friend took the photo and I was thinking of taking one of the chairs as well. Boy did this guy ever get upset that I even thought about taking the photo... when he got it developed, I could understand why. Even more curious to look at it now with 'artistic' eyes, as opposed to not knowing a thing way back when.

Day 79 - The Good, The Bad and The something.

2005-03-24T15:22:00.001+11:00

Headed into Canadian Human Resources concerning work and all bad news. Means most potential options I may have had in regards to staying in Canada pretty much evaporated. Pretty disappointed and bummed about it but wasn't too long before looking at some longer term options.

After this I headed into Vie's grade 6 class. They loved me from the get go cause they were meant to be having a test but that got post-ponned a little bit. Was kinda funny cause the other day I 'confessed' that I cheated on one of Vie's tests back in the day and she mentioned this to these students. Some were curious as to what subject, while a couple were as sharp as a tac and wanted to know how I managed this?

I did a little talk on travelling and Australia, getting some interesting questions/comments. I think they were more excited when I gave them an art lesson on how to draw a face. They all seemed into it and came up with some pretty cool drawings. A couple of them were naturally talented and amazing to see the diversity of drawings that came out of the exercise.

In the beginning a little worried/intimidated about how the whole exercise would go as I kinda made it up as I went along - trying to be flexible enough to adjust to where everyone was at in terms of ability. With hindsight, a little humourous to be travelling around the world and end up teaching a class back in my old Junior High. Still it was fun, something out of the ordinary and the kids seemed to be really into it.

Went out for lunch afterwards and then caught up with another friend, going out for lunch a 2nd time (although I was full from the first lunch). We just sat there joking around about semi-stupid stuff, much like old times. Now I know where the roots of my sense of humour come from.

Afterwards just headed out for some photos given that half the sky was clear blue. Now I'd been past my old house several times since being here but today was the first time for a decent photo opportunity.

Something about this house that I always liked - maybe it was the location, maybe it was the extremes of seasons. As you can see, it literally has 4 foot of snow infront of it - remember this is now 'spring'. Hasn't really changed in 15 years, new side fence, satelite dish but that is about it (one day might buy the place).

Headed back out to the farm where I am staying at the moment. The sunset today was pretty cool with an interesting cloud pattern (and in the opposite direction was a full moon - or close enough). This photo was taken a little after 7pm, remembering that it is only just come into spring now. In the middle of summer, the sun goes down around 2300pm at night and up pretty early in the morning.

Another photo that I just happened to like on the farm that I am staying at.

Day 78 - Cold Days Return

2005-03-23T17:22:00.000+11:00

OK, I missed several days and will hopefully return to the 'lost days' when I have a little more time. The last couple of days that I've been here have been getting to almost zero during the day ... a little on the warm side. Today however, back to -25 and wind with a bit of snow ... welcome back, welcome back.

Basically got into town today around lunch time and went to the library ... spent a little too much time here while a kid. So wandered around the place and was kinda bizzare - same but different. One of the librarians I swear was Kirsty's doppleganger which is infinitly ironic.

I found this way cool wall chart which kinda was a summary of human history over time - just really great to be able to visualise something like this. I can't believe I found it here in The Pas of all places. Yeah it is being nerdy but seriously, I've gone back to the library in my old home town ... what do you expect?

I went a couple of blocks uptown to a restaurant that was across the road from my dad's old workplace - 'Fat Boy Restaurant'. The owner was still the same as 14 years ago but wasn't in. As fortune would have it, while eating a meal, the owner would pop in and had a little chat. At first I didn't recognise the face but after awhile it all came back to me - particularly with the help of mannerisms.

Headed from here over to the old Junior High to meet Vie (6th Grade teacher been hanging out with since getting back into town - always one of my favourites/most memorable and been great to see her again. A little bizzare as just a 'normal' person once that 'my teacher' image is gone ... heck, how often is your 6th grade teacher trying to get you drunk?).

We went across town and managed to catch up with my 8th grade history and math teacher. I'd always learnt a lot from this teacher and respected greatly. Kinda strange/ironic in that the first time I'd come across the 'Renaissance' topic was in this class (also the first time I'd heard about the Rosseta Stone was in grade 8 history). Now having spent the last couple of months in Renaissance headquarters and seeing the Rosetta Stone on the last day in Europe, felt like things coming full circle.

I guess one thing that has become obvious while catching up with a couple of my old teachers is their commitment to teach. Teaching was a profession I ruled out many a year ago, I just can't see how people can do it, yet respect them for doing it. Maybe that is why I had such high regard for these teachers, in a sense of responding to the energy and commitment they put into the job.

I guess you kinda hope to take what you have learnt and do something productive with it. I'm probably not the pin up child for that, heck I don't ever seem to have a clue with what I am doing. Although I must hold some kind of record for going the furtherest distance and coming back.

Afterwards headed out and saw the pharmacist and his wife who use to be next door to my dad's work. It was interesting to see them again as they kinda remembered me, but I didn't really recognise their faces - probably the first time this has happened.

Random Request

2005-03-23T05:12:00.000+11:00

Very strange posting and request. If anyone has friends/family/contacts in Vancouver, could you pop me an email?

Otherwise the last several days have been pretty surreal and amazing. Catching up with people who have just been amazing and making me feel really welcome ... feels like a 'home'. Going back to all the old 'stompping grounds' and just physically being in a place, remembering lots of things that I hadn't thought about since they occurred, is pretty bizzare.

Will post more when get some free time.

Day 74 - Same but Different

2005-03-20T17:19:00.000+11:00

I got into The Pas at 0500 and hadn't really slept that much in the past 30 hours. I was fortunate enough to have the parents of an old school friend meet me at this crazy hour and went back out to their farm. Really great to see them after all these years and spent quite some time chatting away.

Later on during the day my old friend came down from about 100km away and it was fantastic to catch up. When you haven't seen people in 14 years, you notice how things change and how some things don't.

Went for a bit of a drive around the town and it was pretty trippy. When we were living here, we never had a car so walked and rode our bikes everywhere in the town. When you do this, are only just a teenager, tiny, it is amazing just how everything seems so much bigger than what it really is!

Some places where just like a time capsule - nothing had changed. What I saw today was exactly the same way it was 14 years ago. In the main commerical area of town, pretty much all the buildings where the same, same paint jobs and all, just the business inside the building had changed to something else.

The 'worst' change - a McDonalds being built across the road from where we use to live! Argh!!! Even small towns like this aren't immune from the reach of the golden arches. A couple of other places had new buildings and businesses but pretty much the same look and feel as when I was here all those years ago.

Just more chattin' and hangin' out and just great to be able to do so. By about 20:00 that night, I was beginning to crash - as I hadn't slept in almost 2 days due to travelling, time zones and on a little bit of a high from just being back in a childhood town which has a lot of fond memories.

Canadian Immigration

2005-03-20T17:15:00.000+11:00

Now if British Immigration was a nightmare, Canada Immigration might become a fairytale. I walked through and they pulled up my details on the computer. As far as they were concerned, I am still a permanent resident... more on a technicality but still a Canadian resident.

I've always wanted to come back to Canada and just looking at available options given this latest piece of information. Watch this space for more details.

Day 73 - Back to the Land of the Moose

2005-03-20T17:03:00.000+11:00

Got up at like 5am, travelled for over an hour to get to London Heathrow airport to make a 9am flight. Now the flight was 8 hours but landed in Toronto Canada just after 11am (8 hour flight, takes only 2 hours... go figure). Right from the moment that I came in contact with the Air Canada flight, ah ... I remembered why I loved Canada so much... the people are just soooooo friendly.

So then another flight from Toronto to Winnipeg after hanging around the terminal for a couple of hours. Once I got to Winnipeg, crossed town to the bus station to get a ticket and then just had another 6 hours to kill before the bus left at 23:00. Caught the bus north for about another 7 hours and ended up at my destination - The Pas. Now if you don't know where this is, put your finger in the middle of a map of Canada and you probably aren't too far from it (only a small town with about 7000 people).

European Summary

2005-03-20T16:16:00.000+11:00

Hard to even begin to summarise such a place like this. I certainly was on the go for the most part and certainly felt like I managed to maximise the time and opportunity. Yeah I did the superficial tourist thing for the most part but felt I was exposed to a wide range of situations, cultures, people, environments etc. Felt like some personal challenges along the way and seemed to figure things out.

I think I summaried it up one time before that while they seemed to have a lot of culture, they didn't seem to have a great deal of civilisation. The smoking was pretty unbelievable and did get to you after awhile. You'd be sitting in a park, someone would sit next to you and light up. After awhile, you started to look at where to sit based upon the wind direction ... stupid thing really.

I really enjoyed Berlin but didn't think much of Amsterdam. Otherwise all countries and places had something to offer - to varying degrees. Eastern Europe was a little bit of a surprise packet and if I was heading back to Europe, I'd probably look around these countries some more first.

England Summary

2005-03-19T04:34:00.000+11:00

I really enjoyed England once I got over the immigration guy and the whole incident. The one thing that irrated me about continental Europe was the 'its all about me' attitude that people had. Maybe because I could understand the language or something but people in England just seemed really polite... and not the whinging pom stereotype that I've always encountered elsewhere.

I was also very fortunate to be staying with a friend cause the place is just ridicilously expensive accomodation wise (probably double Venice prices), and in other ways (also seemed that while people earned more in London, probably doesn't cover the rent as much as in other cities).

I loved the fact that important museums were free and there were still quite a number that I didn't get around to. It just means that you can spend a couple of hours in each day for a several day - rather than trying to do the whole thing all in one day (when the brain doesn't want to take as much in)

I think that London, Rome and Paris are 3 cities that you need several weeks just to cover superficially. Most of the others seemed you could cover most things in 4-5 days.

Caravaggio - The Final Years

2005-03-19T04:25:00.000+11:00

Last stop, an exhibition in the National Gallery of Caravaggio. I'd been tempted not to see this having seen a lot of Caravaggio but was convinced otherwise. Admittedly it had a painting that I really wanted to see that would otherwise be in the normal National Gallery collection.

This was the 'Supper at Emmaus' done in 1601. The good thing about these types of exhibitions is sometimes putting together paintings that otherwise wouldn't be together. So next to the Supper at Emmaus 1601 version by Caravaggio, was Supper at Emmaus 1606 version also by Caravaggio.

Now in 1606, Caravaggio killed a man and had to leave Rome where he was working (Caravaggio was a bit of a wild man, always getting into trouble and drinking too much). Thus the exhibition mainly tracked the last part of his life, from 1606 to 1609 and how he dealt with subject matter after killing someone.

So having the two Supper at Emmaus paintings beside one another was kinda like a before and after shot and there were differences in how the subject matter was handled. There were only 16 paintings in this exhibition, all by Caravaggio but a matter of quality over quantity.

Blind Stupid Luck ... just never ends

2005-03-19T04:07:00.000+11:00

Now I've had a lot of this over the last couple of months but today was definately up there. When I was looking at the Rosetta stone, a tour guide from the museum came along and I tagged onto the back of his group as he was really fascinating.

Basically went through the Greek and Roman section, which I avoided yesterday as I had seen a lot of Roman stuff in Italy and wanted something different. If I didn't do this tour, I would not have seen at the sculpture and freizes taken from the Parthenon in Athens (that famous building on the mountain top you always seen). I even knew the stuff was here.

This is the room that has some of the friezes and at the far end you can see some of the sculpture from the triangle/pediment at either end of the building/temple

This is a close up on some of the sculpture at one end.

I mentioned that we got kicked out early yesterday cause the museum was closely for some important Italian VIPs. They were generous to 'lend' this famous bronze statue from Rome for a couple of months (made around 50BC). The marble one is from the British Museum collection (from around 25AD).

Always good to see things like this side by side and it wasn't there the previous day (incidence of blind stupid luck). The statue is quiet famous and there is even a copy in the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Basically it is a boy pulling a throne out of his foot.

Greatest Human Achievement

2005-03-19T03:30:00.000+11:00

Sometimes you just wonder about "Greatest" Something ... whether scientist, discovery, sports person etc. Years ago I wondered about what was the greatest human achievement. Naturally you have the ones like putting a man on the moon, various engineering feats, philosphical aspects of love and so forth.

Then one day it occured to me, it was probably the ability to write and create language ... or more simply, the ability to think 'abstractly'. It is something that we kinda take for granted today, much like the true 'axioms' behind how math fundamently works. It just happens and we don't give it a 2nd thought.

But one day we are running around as monkeys and beyond, and then decide to give a 'representation' to the grunts we'd used to communicate with one another - what a leap forward. If you were asked to define 'love', what would your answer be? Things to describe how it is displayed, a bond between people but fundamentaly it isn't really tangible ... abstract, yet we all know what it is.

Yesterday when the British Museum closed early, I wasn't able to see the Rosetta Stone so decided to head back for this specifically. There are 3 versions of the same story on the stone (basically about how wonderful a particular king had been). The top 2 are ancient egyptain in like an upper case version, then a lower case version. The bottom is Greek.

Up until the 1800s, we hadn't worked out egyptian symbols, thus a lot of there culture remained a mystery. So when this stone was found, we knew Greek and 25 years later, people were able to decipher it. Thus we were able to unlock the structure of it and only became a matter of time before all other egyptain texts could be translated - providing valuable insight and knowledge into the past.

So this block, an example of that step forward in the ability to abstract to represent something, and unlocking thousands of years of knowledge - pretty cool.

Dali Universe

2005-03-19T03:19:00.000+11:00

Two artist's whom I didn't see much work on this trip and wanted to were Salvador Dali and John Waterhouse. I saw a Dali museum in London and decided to go and pay for this one hoping to see some paintings. I got in and it was prints and sculptures, with only one painting.

How disappointment! Not only that, some of the sculptures I'd seen in the Sydney show a couple of years ago that was also titled "Dali Universe". Now I'm a little slow but it them occurred to me that the Sydney show was taken from this collection - d'oh.

Admittedly at the end they had a gallery with some Picasso sketches and workings for his Guernica painting that was pretty interesting. Also the posters in the gift shop were probably more interesting than the exhibition ... doesn't say much.

Day 72 - End of the Road

2005-03-19T02:14:00.000+11:00

Today starts off as a little bit of a weird day. This is the last day in Europe and somewhat brings the art and culture part of the trip to an end. Last chance to see the grand museums and buildings. Need to go out with a bit of a 'bang' after 10 weeks and too many museums, galleries, sites and buildings to count.

Fortunate enough to have some great weather so decided to head to Buckingham Palace. I always thought that the one changing of the guard I wanted to see, I wouldn't. After stumbling onto the changing of the guard in Monaco, Rome, Vatican etc. the guide book did mention that in winter, the changing of the guard is every other day. Thus it wasn't to be today but tomorrow - bummer.

Anyhow this is a shot of Buckingham Palace and relative to others ones that I've seen, not really all that impressive. It is kinda square and blockish and no real dome or anything to offset vertical and horizontal lines.

The fountain in front of it was interesting however.

While walking around the Palace, saw a couple of different official looking horses and carriages but had no idea of the significance of them

O Canada

2005-03-17T18:51:00.000+11:00

just a quick update from heathrow airport (will update yesterday at a later date). Time in Europe is now at an end and had a blast - pretty amazing little trek through the place. Now on to Canada and will be great to catch up with people and somewhat chill!

Watch this space for more details.

Half Way Around the World...

2005-03-16T20:56:00.000+11:00

All too often I seem to be somehow saying '...catching up with a friend I haven't seen in x years.' (the record currently stands at 17 years - a friend from primary school). This was one of those and managed to catch up with a high school friend who is now in London. Was great just to hang out, chill and naturally catch up. Time was oh so short and kinda funny to go half way around the world to catch up... Canada should be interesting in that regard :)

National Portrait Gallery

2005-03-16T20:53:00.000+11:00

Getting kicked out of the British Museum early meant I had some more 'gallery hours' daylight so headed off to the National Portrait gallery. As I suspected, the 1st half was pretty dry with portraits from 1500 to 1800. After that things started to get a little more interesting, and at least people you might know and understand.

It was informative to see just a whole gallery of portraits in a chronological order and how the genre has developed and grown. Having such a gallery would be such a gold mine for ideas and inspiration in ones own portraits. One day, if I ever get around to it, has given me some ideas for an Archibald Portrait entry ... time will tell.

British Museum

2005-03-16T20:51:00.000+11:00

A little saturated with art so decided to head off to the British Museum which is more artifacts and physical objects from various cultures and time periods. It was great but the place is just stupidly massive and just far too much to take in. So got a few reference photos for drawing purposes and other little bits of interest. They were having some Italian VIPs coming along and closing the museum early :(