Floriade 2005




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Originally uploaded by Tim Johnson.

Tegan, Sanders (Tegan’s cousin) and I wandered down to Floriade near Lake Burley Griffin on the Monday of the recent long weekend. After all the hype I hear about Floriade and how this year was meant to be really good, I was quite looking forward to it and we were keen to do some good photography as well.

I had never been to Floriade before – I know, that’s sacrilege – spending 5 years in Canberra without going to Floriade. It was great to get out for a reasonable walk (4 or 5km each way) in the nice weather, but Floriade itself was a real disappointment. Yes, we did some fun photography as you can see here, but overall it was nothing special.

I found it to be quite plain – just tulips, mainly. I like tulips, but tulips alone hardly make a ‘Floriade’. Oh, there were some beds of pansies as well, which all looked like they had died in the heat. Now maybe we had just been spoilt by seeing the Hong Kong flower show earlier this year – here’s an example of the difference between the two: we spent an hour and a half or more at the HK flower show and could have easily stayed longer. We spent maybe half an hour at Floriade, at the most, and that was more than enough.

We were pretty happy with some of our photos though. They also gave us some ideas about how to take even better photos of the kind we like in the future, so that was positive.

NSW Politics

What a difference between Carr and Brogden:

Carr surprises everyone by announcing his retirement. He steps down while accolades pour in, even if there is some debate about how successful his term in office was. And the biggest issues surrounding his departure were, “who can fill such big shoes?” and “will he run for Federal politics?”

Brogden resigns, surprising no-one and amidst several varieties of scandal. No-one wonders or cares what he’ll do next. The question of who will replace him isn’t being particularly debated, and it doesn’t seem like such a difficult step up for his successor.

Most interestingly, perhaps, is that with a change of leadership the NSW Liberals have probably lost whatever advantage they had with a relatively experienced leader vs a newly appointed Labor premier with many problems to fix. It should make for an interesting next couple of years in NSW politics.

Photo with Neil Gaiman

When I went to the Neil Gaiman book signing last week, the first question I was asked after walking into the bookshop was whether I had a ticket. I was quite taken aback – I didn’t realise that one needed a ticket to be there. It turned out that one didn’t, but they were handing out tickets to allow people to browse the shop while ensuring a place in the queue. The other thing I was told was, “no photos”. This was fine with me – the thought of getting a photo with Mr Gaiman had not even entered my head, and I certainly hadn’t brought a camera.

Tim with Neil GaimanIt turns out that despite this injunction, there is a photo of me with Neil Gaiman. Mal from my local comic store, Impact Comics, took a photo while I was getting my books signed and chatting with Neil about fountain pens. I only discovered this when, yesterday afternoon, I looked at the Impact Comics website, seeking info about Stikfas, and the first thing I noticed was a photo of yours truly on the front page. I was highly impressed and surprised, and naturally I asked and received a higher resolution copy of it. Apparently the photo made it to the site as it captured the feel of the day and the way that Mr Gaiman interacted with his fans. I was just thankful they took the photo with me and not with some other random fans – thanks guys!

While I’m at it, I’d just like to comment that Impact Comics is a top shop and its proprietors, Kam and Mal, are top blokes. Very early on after moving to Canberra, I discovered that Impact Records was a wonderful store right near my work. they had great music, comics, DVDs, posters, books – a bit of everything. They could order in CDs that I couldn’t find on Amazon or anywhere else, for example, The Leningrad Cowboy’s Total Balalaika Show (which my parents couldn’t find anywhere in Eurpore, not even in Finland from where the Cowboys hail). I had rekindled my interest in comics in late uni (thanks Joel A) and so quickly set up a standing order with the good people at the comics counter at Impact.

However, Impact Records closed down late last year – ’twas a sad event (apart from a chance to buy up trade paperbacks and other collected volumes of comics at half price). But fortunately, the two main guys behind the comics counter soon started their own store – and it’s great. While Impact Comics has not quite attained to the glory that was Impact Records, they are getting there, despite being less than one year old and a fledgling small business at that. If you’re in Canberra and interested in comics, I heartily reccomend it.

Work

I currently hate the magpie sitting on a rail outside my office window.

It’s never done anything to me, but looking at it I realise that it can jump around, fly away and do pretty much whatever the hell it likes, while I’m stuck here at my desk in front of a computer. Even having internet access and being able to write this, or listen to music, or go for a walk and grab a coke or a coffee – none of those things currently make up for the fact that I envy the life position of a stupid magpie right at this moment.

It’s really quite a depressing thought. I don’t like myself for it, but there you have it.

Update: and it turns around and looks at me from time to time, which makes the situation worse for some indiscernable reason.

Grandma’s 80th Birthday party

Last Saturday, we went up to Goulburn for my grandmother’s 80th birthday party. My Grandma has led quite a remarkable life and it was wonderful to celebrate this milestone with her. It’s even more wonderful that she is still going so strongly, both physically and in Christ.

I’ve now uploaded Tegan’s and my photos of the party, which you can see here:
http://homepage.mac.com/mistertim/PhotoAlbum10.html
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