Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as
Bicentennial Park is one of our favourite spots in Sydney. It's easy to get to, there's lots to keep a family busy and it's very flat so it's ideal for cycling and suchlike. We had some free time on Saturday, so we headed over and had a lovely afternoon.
It was B2's first go in the backpack and he loved it. I could hear him gurgling happily in my ear as we walked around.
After a hiaitus brought about by shame over the pisspoor quality of my last contribution, I have returned to the whirligig of debate that is the ABC Unleashed website. This time it's an article about un-PC musicals. My best yet, I think.
The Sydney Film Festival has been and gone, and I managed to catch four films this year. Not bad, I suppose, what with everything. Our policy is always to see movies that are unlikely to get distributed in Australia, which generally means taking a punt on random stuff and hoping it's OK.
Here's what I saw:
Fujian Blue: Thematically interesting but clumsily plotted film set in the people-smuggling capital of China.
Under The Bombs: Road movie about a woman seeking her son in the aftermath of Israel's 2006 invasion of southern Lebanon. It was filmed there and then, giving a real sense of urgency and directness to proceedings, but also resulting in some narrative blips.
Jar City: An Icelandic cop mystery featuring festering corpses and brutal violence, but the strongest audience reaction came from the scene in which the cop eats a sheep's head for dinner.
I didn't get to see anything at the State Theatre, which is really the heart of the festival, but the films were all worth seeing. Boy A might even get distributed with a bit of luck.
I was enchanted the other day to discover that the great Roman orator Pliny the Elder would end every speech, on any topic, with the line "Furthermore, I think Carthage should be destroyed".
"We must build a new temple to Mars. Furthermore, I think Carthage should be destroyed".
"The behaviour of Caligula is a disgrace to the senate. Furthermore, I think Carthage should be destroyed".
"More freight on the canals. Furthermore, I think Carthage should be destroyed".
Brilliant! I suppose it's a bit like my email signature, which says "Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?" followed by a link to this blog. It's a wonderful sentiment, I think, from my most favouritest song - a good way to end any message.
Anyways, next time I speak at a conference or a wedding or something, maybe I should try Pliny's technique of appending a small postscript to my oration:
"Furthermore, I think The Boo Radleys are criminally underrated"
"Furthermore, I think God does not exist"
""Furthermore, I think David Attenborough is the Greatest Living Englishman"
The calm before the next storm (and just after the last one)
It was a long weekend in Oz thanks to the Queen's Birthday (gor bless you, maam) and we didn't have a great deal on, so we concentrated our energies on spending quality time with the kids. After our recent rough trot, we kept it low-key and all felt a lot more relaxed on Monday than we had on Friday.
B2 is enjoying being out of his bandages and being able to get in the bath again:
Beth's favourite pastimes are still artistic, meaning artistic in its 2-year-old, Jackson-Pollock-on-crack sense anyway:
A busy week ahead and Beth's 3rd birthday on the weekend, so we'll be back on our usual knackered form shortly.
Just a post for friends in the UK, to let you know exactly what our movements are in July. Key dates are Sunday 6th July (daytime get-together for everyone) and Saturday 19th July (evening get-together), locations TBA. Put em in your diary now! If you want to come to any gigs or theatricals too, grab your tickets. You can see that the schedule is jam-packed, so we probably won't be able to see you outside of these occasions, sorry.
Sat 5th July - arrive at Heathrow early morning. Sunday 6th July - daytime get together in a park
Tuesday 8th - theatre in evening (Afterlife at the National Theatre) Wednesday 9th - Magnetic Fields gig Thursday 10th - down to Bristol
Friday 11th - Dartmouth with family for the week.
Friday 18th - return to London Saturday 19th - theatre matinee (Revenger's Tragedy at the National Theatre) Saturday 19th - piss-up at a pub Sunday 20th - Lovebox festival (yey!)
Friday 25th - dinner with family Saturday 26th - fly home in the evening.
