Pop Up Globe

This is one of the best shows to go to.  We went to the Melbourne Theatre Company once for a show but this one has the added atmosphere of the pit.  The actors include the groundlings in the show requiring answers from them in order for the show to proceed.  The "As You Like It " play is very funny, more so in the mannerisms and delivery of the actors with much slapstick humour. Some of the language has been updated but it pays to know the story thoroughly beforehand.  There are two companies in residence and this one is the all male edition.  Being in the audience with a beard is interesting.

Groundlings Unite

Close action

In the forest

Footy Live Site

Because we were in the area we called in to the MCG to check out the Live site which is where the teams arrive after the cavalcade. I assume some of the screens will stay in place to watch the game outside the ground.  I think next year we will try for a bike ride to see more of the action.  The AFL doesn't do anything by halves and I would say there was a Grand Final size crowd along the whole route particularly at the end. I was impressed with the Tower of Torp mind you every kick I saw off the top was a drop punt.

T he whole car is ball bearing

Tower of Torp

Public Holiday

It was only a matter of time before my birthday was declared a public holiday. We have started off with a dinner party and today its parades and culturisation. A combination of footy and Shakespeare.  Never fear Shakespeare is here. 

I recommend the crumbed veal Milanese style

State Library - Shakespeare's window

As You Like it

The Rolling Stones suggested "You don't always get what you want" but in this play Shakespeare goes the other way in that everyone present got what they deserved or what they wanted 'as they liked it'.   This is one of those crazy comedies where disguised women, as men, are getting involved in love triangles where four couples were married at the end, after the madness was ironed out.  There are a lot of songs in the text so I think Shakespeare is really having a go at a musical here but there are only lyrics in the text so maybe the music score does not get published.  It is said that Shakespeare played Adam the longtime servant in Orlando's household so maybe he saw himself as the faithful servant to the audience.  It will be interesting to see how the POP UP company treat this play.

The Terrace

We rode to the Terrace for breakfast. As for the stats it was a 32 km round trip, taking 2hrs 25 min of actual riding and we burned 1410 calories.  Not sure how many calories there would be in a big breakfast with cappuccino.  It is a good location with a lake view.  There were wedding expos going on around the city from every type of chair to every type of car. I told them they were 40 yar too late.

The Terrace

Women's Fountain

Squizzy's old car

Guilfoyle's Volcano

The bicycle makes a lot of places accessible from Essendon. We were at the volcano in 55 minutes and that included a few short detours for road works.  I haven't seen this many cactus plants since the glass dome in Singapore.  You wouldn't want to slip down the side of this volcano, it would have more prickles than the Briar patch.

Below the Volcano

Prickly Balls

Prickly Penis

Deception Point

I rode over to Savers a while back looking for Hugos. They don't have a huge book inventory but I did come back with a $3 copy of a Dan Brown yarn but not one of the Robert Langdon puzzle pieces. This one is your typical West Wing power play where an overlord spy master uses every resource to save the country and in the end boy gets girl.  Not in the same league as Da Vinci code.

The tribulations of trilobites

O Bikes

Went for a short ride along the river and then cut north on the cattle route and back via the showgrounds which are gearing up for their annual bash.  Along the way I spied six O Bikes in just an hours riding so how many are actually out there.  Not sure what the O stands for.  A few were next to the river and some outside the showgrounds.  It seems to me there must be a better way of  treating these bikes than the council throwing them in the bin.  Maybe GPS tracking could work so that the company can go and fetch them if they end up too far away or stationary for too long.

This one has been ridden then left as the rider has walked the rest of the way.

Lord of Light

GOT has a Lord of Light but this one is of an Indian persuasion.  There are many Gods here who live in heaven but freely walk the Earth when it suits them and war on it as well.  These Gods have a particular aspect that they can turn on at will such as the God of Destruction who by a look can implode a temple. The Lord of Light has many names and many bodies so it is hard to keep track of who's who, even other Gods, who think they have killed him are confused when he turns up later.

The Binder of Demons

Blossom

There may be plenty of storms around but it only takes one sunny day and there is an explosion of petals and bees.  If you have the blinds drawn and the windows shut because yesterday was cold then you can miss the change.  Tomorrow is likely to storm up again.  With the demise of dvd writers in favor of streaming, I have found that .mp4 film clips work better via a USB drive when plugged in to a TV set, than a windows type file extension.

Blossom Dearies

Not like Japan

Livy to his friends

Livy was born 59 BC and died 17 AD or thereabouts.    This book is really a collection of stories when Rome was more a city not an empire although these events are 300 yar after the founding of Rome.  They were always warring with the neighbours, they would raise an army, elect a supreme commander, he would appoint an officer for the cavalry and they would march off to the fight.  This was repeated time and again.  Livy always used the names of those involved such as Vectius Messius who gave a stirring speech to rally his soldiers.

A Livy likeness done in 1567

Titus Livius

I have turned attention to  my MDCCLXXXIII  (Roman Numerals what else) 1783 copy of Titus Livius history of Rome.  It is a well read tome but still holding together.  The previous owner has used green ink to put his name and date on the inside (Feb 1921).  There are printed notes at the front that say this book is for use by students of the Humanities and it also urges young gentlemen with a grammar education to read Roman authors for at least one hour per day.  The printed text has a trick when reading, as whenever an 's' appears in the word, they use an elongated form like  f  except when it is at the end of the word.  eg  quote 'However infignificant this office might have appeared, the fathers grafped at it with joy'.

Frontpiece

Comms Technology

When I think back to the days when I attended meetings at various locations. Drove into the city or drove to Mitcham or elsewhere.  I was just present at a meeting where there were 12 of us all face to face saying their piece. One from Canada and a few from the Philippines and it was all happening whilst driving along the Geelong Rd in the car.  Just a laptop and a phone,  the tools of business.

I could have saved a lot of time back then.

Collendina Report No 8715

I can report that after 5 months of being elsewhere we have come back to find that the beach is still here.  Also the submerged car has re-emerged from the sands and looking a bit worse for wear.  Two plovers have been spotted and more will likely turn up before summer gets here. A number of vans have been replaced by cabins as well as newer vans coming on site as well. We also notice one older van has a small extension for a toilet and shower which we were previously told was not allowed. I went for a short testing jog of 500m as it has been a year since the Plantar fasciitis was detected. Walking is ok but I can feel heel pain so no jogging yet.

Morning Low Tide

Work the Arms

Collendina Report No 8714

Went to the Farmer's Harvest store. We have driven past it for years but this time called in to have a look but it is more like a down sized supermarket.  There is a lot of fresh produce in there and I recommend it. We got some purple chips and a family size pie.  The van renos and replacements have been happening on other sites before the summer arrives.

Farmer's Harvest

On the newThrone

Summer yet?

Birthday Season

We have a birthday season around here. It starts on 7th Sep and ends on 7th Nov.  This covers four birthdays with only one omission.  Not sure that said season was still going to be hosted here after 30 yar but then it is very central for the party goers.  Also it is a good test that the house can still handle up to 20 revelers but the days of 21st parties are gone.

Beer and Home Cooked Food

Quinn delivery

Shallow in the Deep End

I'm a bit skeptical of some children's books mainly about the motivation of the writer. In this case I can see the value of children writing their own story and learning about English along the way.  This one is not a long read but is unique in terms of authors and Tiwi life style. I think the illustrations could have been fleshed out a bit more.

Tiwi at Pickataramoor

Foundation Series

I kept up the reading whilst flitting through Europe. There is always an element of waiting around on trips, not to mention simply lounging by the pool.  The Hugo project continued. Asimov's "Foundation's Edge" won the Hugo in 1983.  In the 70's I purchased the three volume Foundation series which I read. This was the extent of the story for 30 yar.  The 4th volume appeared some years later with a lot of other books about robots in between, such as "I, Robot".  I decided to go back and reread all three volumes before the 4th book. On the last page of that one it says "The End (for now)". So I go poking around and in the 1980s he added two prequels and two sequel volumes to the original three. Maybe I will forget the two prequels but I need "Foundation and Earth" to finish the story.

Reread on the go

Hugo Vol 4

Light Rail

Spirited Away

I have always used Bay St to get to Port Melbourne but there is a good bike track following the old train line. They call it Light Rail but it looks like a tram.  We picked it up at Montague St but it starts outside Crown in Spencer St.  We bumped into Paul Carney on one of his ranging walks from Fitzroy. He was out on the Moonee Ponds trail which didn't seem the right way to get back to Fitzroy but the more walking the better for him.

with bicycle

Sequency

I have not made it to too many Father's days in the last few years due to travel commitments but we were back in time for yesterday.  Just like being on holiday, there were lasagnas, apple pies and cakes everywhere.  There was also time for a refresher in the Sequence game but being midweek a quick game was a good game.

Point of Order

Customs Queue

I have had various experiences with the customs man. This time we had things to declare such as herbal concoctions as well as shells that we had brought back.  It is always a deliberate bottle neck exiting the international arrivals and for good reason.  However when two or more large planes arrive closely, the backlog quickly builds.  So this time they sent someone down the line for a preliminary check on who's declaring what. I said I had a "herbal concoction from a Sri Lankan garden". Exact words. She wanted to know what it was made of.  I said I didn't know. She looks at me incredulous as if I am supposed to know, then grabs our cards and stamps them as passed.  I guess we didn't fit the profile.

Arthritis oil