Back in Sicily - Piazza Amerina - Villa Romana del Casale


Here are close-ups of the cherub charioteers I showed in an earlier post. They're from the Villa Romana del Casale. I snapped 180 photos here - it was astounding. Soon I will have them all up at my Flickr site.

In these images, chariots are drawn by geese, flamingos, pigeons and turkeys. They are so clever. But what's with the monobrows?

Freedom isn't free - one in one million French motorists agree:

this is the image I wanted to show you last Friday but had deleted from the camera. It was taken in Lyon and if you look closely, you’ll see me reflected under the ‘H’ of the car’s badge. [That’s ‘H’ for ‘homo’ right? A neat coincidence : ) ]. I was not able to email this to your work email account.

Though parties on both sides of the political fence in French parliament opposed the actions of the Coalition of the Willing, it seems that a minority of voters support the war on terror and the actions of Uncle Sam’s empire. I suppose that such support might get your vehicle spat on but it is not seditious.

I have a great respect for French culture and I admire their dedicated and serious approach to social welfare, politics, music, philosophy and food, among other things. The sheer hypocrisy of some of the things they do tickles me as well - for example the great fascination the French have for U.S. culture - especially cinema - alongside their paradoxical hatred of the cultural imperialism that the United States cannot help but impose on every nation it trades with. Hence their efforts to safeguard the unique elements of the French language - though common perception of this guardedness is probably overstated.

My affinity for things French makes me an easy target for one of the most notorious and eccentric right-wingers in my workplace. I will not name him here in this blog but anyone working in the Australian Taxation Office in Debt & Lodgment policy areas (especially around Brisbane) probably knows who I'm talking about. He's very gung-ho about all things American, and after some persecution he faced in the workplace in response to his zeal, he responded by making his cubicle a shrine to the star-spangled banner, decorating it further with a range of iconic U.S. symbols - like the eagle coat of arms and statue of liberty.

Unlike the serious and distressing persecution this man faced, his teasing of my point of view is very engaging, funny and light-hearted. There's lots of left-leaning employees in the public service and he has a friendly and well-reasoned argument for each of them. Despite being opposed to my point of view, the ridicule he dishes out is intelligent, impartial and often humourous. He also never takes sledging to a level that might be labelled bullying in modern workplaces - his attacks are never personal and always underlying his critiques is the sense of respect that comes from one enquiring mind sparring with another.

Here's an example of his very clever anti-French diatribe - in response to an email I circulated in March this year relating to the Eurovision Song Contest:

From: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Sent: Friday, 31 March 2006 3:00 PM
To: Slartibartfast & undisclosed recipients
Subject: RE: congratulations

I think the French entrant might win this year. Their song translates as:

We are the land of onions, wine and cheese.

We're on the Security Council instead of the Japanese

We got our arses kicked by the Vietnamese at Dien bien Phu

We got chased away by the Algerians in '62.

The Germans whooped our bums and then occupied our land.

So we sucked up to them and gave them a hand.

After the Americans saved us and chased the Boche out

We resumed the pretence that we have some real clout.

We have an inflated sense of self importance.

What we lack in prowess we make up in prance.

French is the world language - we maintain the fiction

We cling to that notion; it is our addiction.

Vote for us, judges, though we cannot dance.

Vote for us, judges, 'cos we come from FRANCE.

Of course he is not incorrect in pointing these things out - France is the lovable loser of the 20th century.

In Ancient Greece, there was continual economic, political and sporting rivalry between Athens and Sparta. The Spartans were bloody fearsome athletes and warriors; they frequently out-traded and and out-fought Athens, like the Germans 'whooped French bums and then occupied their land' - but the legacy handed down to us by Athens is much more substantial than the flinty shards of expertise that Sparta has given to present-day humanity.

I think that the rivalry between USA and France is relatively more balanced in terms of cultural strength / weakness. There will be more cited from 20th century French art, literature and philosophy than Yankee wisdom on those frontiers. USA might trump France in other key areas - economic might, military power (and just maybe in music - jazz and hip-hop are uniquely American and much admired everywhere, not least in France) - but the cultural legacy passed on to us in this century is probably greater from the Froggies than the vast differences in population and wealth might suggest.

As for the relative superiority of each nation's brand of cinema - well, that's a debate I don't want to start, much less offer an opinion on. I love films from both countries. I know that the French love Woody Allen... and people of the USA likewise adore Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Louis Malle. So maybe the cinema debate is a zero-sum game.

Climbing Massif de Chartreuse

Back in France, north-west of Grenoble and back in sequence.

Another day where we are blessed with extraordinarily mild weather. It's the 9th of October and should be much cooler. It's the time of year when things are usually also wetter, cloudier and more windy.

Not this year. In fact, later in the month we learn that this has been the warmest October in the south of France since reliable meteorological data started being collected. Daily maximum temperatures for the month were 8 degrees above average. An inconvenient truth? I'm perhaps getting incrementally fitter - this feels like an easier climb than the previous day's journey up to Croix de Chamrousse. It might just be that I pace myself better.

Thanks to the wonderful weather, it's remarkably still and quiet on the top of this mountain ridge. We are almost 2000 m above sea level; there is no hint of an icy breeze even though the snow-capped Mont Blanc is visible (but nevertheless quite distant):


We are able to look down into the secluded valley where the monks of Chartreuse live. These dedicated people take a vow of silence - it is very fitting to then be accommodated in this gorgeous, tranquil location:


All this silence and tranquility is probably a bit much for some. Perhaps it is why they enjoy a tipple. In fact, they distill a world-famous herb liqueur.




Bottom right of picture - the brown building with the dark roof is the entrance block to the monastery. Up the hillside in the valley, following up a tree lined road, the larger complex of white buildings capped by a dark roof in the middle-left is the monastery itself.

Back down in the Grenoble valley after the climb, I snapped this wonderful picture of the town's Bastille


All these mountains are good for defence: they give a commanding view of the approach of any sizable group who might want to do the city harm.

First batch of photos from Sicily uploaded to flickr


I have not shut up about the day Marc and I climbed Mt Etna since I got back home. So I'm jumping out of sequence a bit and loading these images up before the earlier days of the Sicily trip.

This was a fairly easy climb in beautiful weather. We felt very fortunate that the window of opportunity opened long enough for us to enjoy this day as much as we did.

Collecting chestnuts in Autumn - something to love about staying in Grenoble:


This was an amazing and exciting experience - like seeing snow for the first time.

You hear it every December in that Nat King Cole song... 'chestnuts roasting on an open fire...' so evocative yet so alien to us living in the southern hemisphere.

By the roadside on the way up to Chamrousse, Marc spotted a good, safe stretch of road under some chestnut trees. Out of the car, we scraped the grass on the roadside verge with the heels of our shoes and kicked the spiky round chestnut cases onto the road. They're almost too prickly to hold.. you certainly cannot clench your fist around one without spiking your hand:


Again, shoes are a safe tool for harvesting and collecting the chestnuts. Squeezing the case with your heel, the shiny brown nuggets slide out which can be picked up easily.


From our harvest, we roasted half the batch, peeled the brown skin off and ate them warm with some beer and wine. Yummy! I was reminded of a more powdery, sweet version of our unique and wonderful macadamia nut. Despite the spiky shell, I think the chestnut is a little bit easier to get at than a macadamia. The remainder of our chestnut harvest was boiled, peeled, pureed and mixed in with white sugar. It forms a paste which the Frenchies call creme de marron. A popular filling for sweet crepes.

As I travelled more on this trip, I discovered that the chestnut phenomenon is not all that unique. This time of year, fruit and vegetable carts and street stalls had little braziers smoking away selling triangular paper sleeves of just-roasted chestnuts all over the place ... Catania and Palermo in Sicily... in France - Grenoble, Lyon - and Paris too.. even in Shanghai where I spent two days on the return journey home. People queued eagerly and patiently for their fix in all of these cities whenever their noses told them chestnuts were fresh off the roasting pan. In all of these instances, I never got the sense of enjoyment that came from collecting them and cooking them myself.






Of course ... that novelty would wear off... convenience wins the day ultimately! I suppose living day to day it wouldn't be easy to go and collect your own... if was a European urban dweller I'd be queuing up with everyone else!

Arrival in France - Grenoble

Hanging out with Marc in the Rhone-Alps region of France. Marc is the outdoors type; more than 10 years older than me. He's thinner, fitter and has better skin to cope with sun exposure. Lucky I'm so charming : )

We climbed lots of mountains and ate lots of cheese. See the first batch of flickr photos to learn more. Here's one:

At base of Croix de Chamrousse

Movies on the plane I

The Devil wears Prada:

Really clever - but sort of predictable. I kept thinking of 'Coyote Ugly' meets 'The King and I'. A dewy, optimistic newbie takes a job out of desperation. On the way, newbie-with-heart-of-gold gets stressed, shocked, in over their head, nearly loses the love of their life, then emerges on the other side a better person. More worldly, less naive, ready to pursue their dream career with new insight and loads more cunning. Well, that's 'Coyote Ugly' and 'Devil Wears Prada'. Both these films have Australian-born eye candy: C.U. has Adam Garcia and T.D.W.P. features Simon Baker.

'The King and I' and 'Prada' have similarities in their demanding central character. T.K.&.I. has Yul Brynner in this role while T.D.W.P. has the versatile Meryl Streep. In the true situations that inspire these two stories, I think that the living person is far nastier than the films can allow us to see. The King of Siam was probably a lot worse than the film can show; while nobody has dared print any real revelations about the 'ice-queen' editor of US Vogue magazine, but Lauren Weisberger has tried to capture Anna Wintour's essence in the book which became the film, changing the name of the feared person and the revered publication.

I enjoyed it but I think it could have been a lot bitchier than it was. Probably too watered down and nice to become a classic in the eyes of the gay community.

Finland, Finland, Finland...a country where I want to be...

Departed Brisbane on QANTAS for Singapore on 5 October. I transferred to the main carrier for my flight there, bound for Helsinki.

Finnair are so naive and trusting in this cautious, cocooning world that cowers in the wake of 11 September 2001:

your meal is finished... what do you want to do now with that sharp metal bread knife?

(An imagined conversation from the headspace of another unhinged passenger in economy class)

Not only was this airline flatware a little unconventional for the 21st century.. I noticed a discarded cigarette lighter under a seat as I walked through business class to the pleb seating section.

Finnish nationals who sat alongside me wondered why I took a picture of my empty meal tray. I explained that QANTAS and most other airlines don't serve potential weapons with their economy class meals anymore. Butane lighters are not permitted through checkpoints in Australia; not even knitting needles.

I got very close to Norway at the end of this flight (I won an award for that you know). I didn't see Norway or any of the fjords I designed, but did capture some Finnish interior design at Helsinki International:




prices on these shelves begin at 50 euro - this is a good philosophy also to guard against the dropitism phenomenon








A little stool with a big price - it fits in a flat-pack box which you see on the left. An Alvar Aalto design original, yours for just 94 euro....or you can buy the IKEA stolen- idea- without- licensing- from- the- patent for about 1/8 to 1/10 of the price : )

I'm back... in time for another singing event

I'm back from overseas! Here's one photo of about 1200:

It's from Sicily, near the town of Piazza Amerina, in the Villa Romana del Casale. I took 180 pictures at this site! The pic above shows four fanciful mosaic representations of cupids riding chariots. One chariot is drawn by pigeons, another by a turkey, flamingos and so on.

There will be lots more uploaded in coming weeks - comments in here and the bulk of pictures in flick-r, with links in between.

My community choir, Roar, has another gig at the Sherwood Community Festival.

We perform at 8pm, however there is a lot on before that, from 5:30. This gig clashes with a party organised for my friend JB who is hitting the big money on Temptation as a carry-over champ. Sorry John, I got my wires crossed and thought I was singing on Saturday.

To sign off, here's another photo:

Marc and Slaribartfast boozing up with yummy French cheese and bread. One feast of many!