wotsitupto (and a discussion on Art)
So, this online public diary thing...
I'll shove some pictures up sometime soonish.
Went to LA from SF.
Went to the Annie Awards. Met Glen Keane! did my sad fanboy routine (last seen performed by myself and JO at Mr R Harryhausen's Bristol talk). Assorted other animation luminaries were there who I failed to grab (they were pretty busy). Met up with S, who I kind of know from dropping off an award when in London. There was a good friendly bunch of animators around.
If you ever go to LA, get up to the high places (Mulholland Drive - thanks Mr M, and the hills above Glendale). Topanga Canyon's nice too, but failed to get onto the ocean road. The rest of LA that I saw is flat and reasonably repetitive. And a little polluted. Got to see a rattlesnake (unfortunately dead).
Got to Melbourne, ran round trying to catch up with everyone I know. Partially managed it. Got to K's 30th anyway, which was good. Met a lot of the folk I'd been working with, who mostly aren't still at the place. Stayed at D & E's new house, which is lovely. Met a lot of the drama guys, some of whom are talking about appearing in Europe.
Ran off to Adelaide, saw D who seems well and got shown round Adelaide Art Gallery by C. Saw a lot of nice work there. (Dorrit Black very good, also another worthy of mention is Clifford Possum). Realised a couple of things. The imagery of Central Australian indigenous art is influenced by the marks made on the landscape by moving things, not the things themselves.
Andy Goldsworthy and Banksy are working with very similar outlooks, senses of visual humour and techniques, but in different landscapes and materials.
Went to Sydney, saw K, T, N and J who are all well. S and L are parents again, S is settled into a new company and all seems good with the world.
Did my tourism in the Big Red (Orange really) Centre. If I had a work visa and more time, I'd've spent a couple of months there. Kata Tjuta was amazing as a landscape, especially the Valley of the Winds (walk clockwise - more difficult, but more rewarding). Uluru is very strange because there's no real sense of scale with it - it could be 100m high or 1000, 500m or 5km on a side, because there's nothing (except those f***ing posts and chains put in by Severin) to measure it against. A classic was noticing the plaques bolted into the side (they've stopped doing this)in memory of people who'd died climbing (something the traditional owners ask you not to do). It's triangular in plan, and full of cavey bits. It would be amazing to see in the rain, as it would pour over and out of it. The formation which looks more like the Uluru you see in postcards (all detail washed out by sunset) is Mt Connolley (spelt wrong? and I don't know the traditional name) a sandstone mesa about 50km away.
More doomwise, had a (for me) very nice evening at Kata Tjuta waiting for some guys who were catching our mini bus (Uluru Express - cheapest and I'd say best way of going round the park)to reappear from their walk. They hadn't by the time the Milky Way came out, we definitely weren't given a bottle of bubbly by a tour coach doing a sunset tour, the park ranger couldn't find them, we went back through the night desert (not really desert, semi-arid and quite green compared with Victoria). Fortunately they were found about noon the following day (by helicopters and police), about 400m off the track, having split up. They were fine but scared.
The French walker found after being missing 4 days near Kings Canyon whilst I was there wasn't in such a good state, but again survived.
More thinking on plaques - they commemorate the people who managed and paid for putting stuff (eg Golden Gate Bridge) up, but not the poor sods that died during the building. (Go check your local bridge and tell me if I'm wrong).
Got back to Melbourne, got rowed by D, packed my stuff up for shipping, ran round sorting out Animation Mentor course applications, handed D the bike to use for commuting, missed the plane by 5 minutes (Jetstar do 60 mins before takeoff, not 45 like Quantas), so had a nice relaxed final day in Melbourne (though failed to buy any Mnr Truffe chocolate from Prahan Market. (send parcels please - 85% I think was the most nicely flavoured).
Arrived in New Zealand Christchurch last night, staying at a hostel with really friendly helpful staff called the Jailhouse (because it was until 1999) so I have my own cell with 8mm steel door and barred window.
I'm going to travel round a hop on hop off bus because that way I get to meet people and also don't end up driving by myself four or five hours a day not getting to properly see the scenery because I'm avoiding becoming part of it. The day starts with the Trans-Alpine Express.
I'll shove some pictures up sometime soonish.
Went to LA from SF.
Went to the Annie Awards. Met Glen Keane! did my sad fanboy routine (last seen performed by myself and JO at Mr R Harryhausen's Bristol talk). Assorted other animation luminaries were there who I failed to grab (they were pretty busy). Met up with S, who I kind of know from dropping off an award when in London. There was a good friendly bunch of animators around.
If you ever go to LA, get up to the high places (Mulholland Drive - thanks Mr M, and the hills above Glendale). Topanga Canyon's nice too, but failed to get onto the ocean road. The rest of LA that I saw is flat and reasonably repetitive. And a little polluted. Got to see a rattlesnake (unfortunately dead).
Got to Melbourne, ran round trying to catch up with everyone I know. Partially managed it. Got to K's 30th anyway, which was good. Met a lot of the folk I'd been working with, who mostly aren't still at the place. Stayed at D & E's new house, which is lovely. Met a lot of the drama guys, some of whom are talking about appearing in Europe.
Ran off to Adelaide, saw D who seems well and got shown round Adelaide Art Gallery by C. Saw a lot of nice work there. (Dorrit Black very good, also another worthy of mention is Clifford Possum). Realised a couple of things. The imagery of Central Australian indigenous art is influenced by the marks made on the landscape by moving things, not the things themselves.
Andy Goldsworthy and Banksy are working with very similar outlooks, senses of visual humour and techniques, but in different landscapes and materials.
Went to Sydney, saw K, T, N and J who are all well. S and L are parents again, S is settled into a new company and all seems good with the world.
Did my tourism in the Big Red (Orange really) Centre. If I had a work visa and more time, I'd've spent a couple of months there. Kata Tjuta was amazing as a landscape, especially the Valley of the Winds (walk clockwise - more difficult, but more rewarding). Uluru is very strange because there's no real sense of scale with it - it could be 100m high or 1000, 500m or 5km on a side, because there's nothing (except those f***ing posts and chains put in by Severin) to measure it against. A classic was noticing the plaques bolted into the side (they've stopped doing this)in memory of people who'd died climbing (something the traditional owners ask you not to do). It's triangular in plan, and full of cavey bits. It would be amazing to see in the rain, as it would pour over and out of it. The formation which looks more like the Uluru you see in postcards (all detail washed out by sunset) is Mt Connolley (spelt wrong? and I don't know the traditional name) a sandstone mesa about 50km away.
More doomwise, had a (for me) very nice evening at Kata Tjuta waiting for some guys who were catching our mini bus (Uluru Express - cheapest and I'd say best way of going round the park)to reappear from their walk. They hadn't by the time the Milky Way came out, we definitely weren't given a bottle of bubbly by a tour coach doing a sunset tour, the park ranger couldn't find them, we went back through the night desert (not really desert, semi-arid and quite green compared with Victoria). Fortunately they were found about noon the following day (by helicopters and police), about 400m off the track, having split up. They were fine but scared.
The French walker found after being missing 4 days near Kings Canyon whilst I was there wasn't in such a good state, but again survived.
More thinking on plaques - they commemorate the people who managed and paid for putting stuff (eg Golden Gate Bridge) up, but not the poor sods that died during the building. (Go check your local bridge and tell me if I'm wrong).
Got back to Melbourne, got rowed by D, packed my stuff up for shipping, ran round sorting out Animation Mentor course applications, handed D the bike to use for commuting, missed the plane by 5 minutes (Jetstar do 60 mins before takeoff, not 45 like Quantas), so had a nice relaxed final day in Melbourne (though failed to buy any Mnr Truffe chocolate from Prahan Market. (send parcels please - 85% I think was the most nicely flavoured).
Arrived in New Zealand Christchurch last night, staying at a hostel with really friendly helpful staff called the Jailhouse (because it was until 1999) so I have my own cell with 8mm steel door and barred window.
I'm going to travel round a hop on hop off bus because that way I get to meet people and also don't end up driving by myself four or five hours a day not getting to properly see the scenery because I'm avoiding becoming part of it. The day starts with the Trans-Alpine Express.