The Zeitgeist: Update + Photoblogging

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Update + Photoblogging

It's been a while since I posted last, another bout of blogging laziness. Despite the lack of comments, I've had quite a number of requests for more Melbourne blogging, which is good because it means people do read this and it isn't just for my benefit (although I'm totally gonna love reading this stuff when I'm overseas... love and hate that is). So included in this post are some more photos I've taken in and around Melbourne. No interesting cafes, restaurants or bars in this post, but will include some more in the next one. :)

In terms of updates, there was, of course, State Conference plus I went on a awesome Great Ocean Road trip with my loveliest travelling companion and, for anyone wanting more details about the trip - lets just say it was 3 days and we took around 5Gb of photos. Yes. A lot of photos.

I've recently passed through a major mid-semester assessment period where, over a weekend, I had a 40% Financial Accounting exam on Friday, followed by a 20% Accounting for Corporate Entities exam and two major essays (one about Chinese peasants pre and post Communist Revolution and one about the Greater Syrian National Congress after WW1, totalling 3500 words) on the following Monday. That was hellish but I got through it, not sure with what sort of results (we shall see) and have been mostly kicking back work-wise, now realising that I'm hella behind.

I've finished reading Jung Chang's biography of Mao, which was full of hate, vitriol and loathing for Mao on every single page. Biased indeed, but an interesting read nonetheless. Am now reading "the most widely read philosophy book of the 20th century" which is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. If anyone's read it, holla at me, but it seems it was more of a baby boomer book.

I've attended two shows as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and they couldn't have been any more different. Akmal, an Egyptian born comedian was absolutely hilarious... giving audience members a great deal of hell and repeatedly taking the piss out of Sheikh al-Hilaly, Alan Jones and the Cronulla riots at the same time. Daniel Kitson on the other hand, a tubby, bearded, nerdish looking Briton, delivered more of a philosophy lecture than a comedy act which was funny at times but undeniably witty, interesting and full of magical insights into the way we are. His act won the top award for the festival's best performance so there ya go.

I've also watched some films. Heavyweights, as part of the German Film Festival at Cinema Como (a lovely cinema, by the way, wish I had my cam). A true story about two rival Bavarian bobsledders having to work together for the benefit of Germany at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Hostel, Eli Roth's horror movie about 3 backpackers that get lured to a shady hostel in Slovakia by the premise of partying and hot sex (Americans, surprise surprise) and receive that, plus unspeakable terror. And, the best of the three, 300... (seen with the glorious one, who detested the gore and is now forcing me to see a chick flick with her, shit) by now you shold know, the film adaptation of a comic about the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans (and some other random Greeks) made a heroic last stand against King Xerxes' of Persia massive army (of horrible fiends). As a result of the final one, I have been running around yelling "FOR SPARTA!!!" at every opportunity.

So thats about it from me, below are the pics i mentioned earlier, gonna try to blog more often but then again, how often do i say that.

The Melbourne Trades Hall building on Lygon St, opened in 1859 and the home of the Victorian labour movement. The flags seen atop of this building are the Australian flag, the Eureka flag, the Aboriginal flag and the Red flag (most commonly associated with communism but actually representing the blood of workers worldwide, a symbol that predates communist ideologies).

The Melbourne skyline as seen from Southbank. The tall building in the centre is the Rialto Tower, formerly tallest building in Australia (now Eureka/Q1).