Once upon a time I would sit in my classroom and thrill because there were large windows to look out. And lucky for me, large windows appeared semi often in my school career. So why large windows? Large windows provided a large view, which in turn provided opportunity to challenge myself by finding a clear sky out there. I would shift around in my seat trying desperately to find the solid colour blue. There could be no clouds, and no tops of buildings ruining my view, this was simply not allowed in my young mind. It had to be pure, uninterrupted blue and until I found that scene, I would search and search and search. And when I found my perfect blue view, life was so sweet, and I would slip into that blue without abandon, no longer in the classroom, off on an adventure though nothing but space, clarity, no thoughts, no words, no birds, nothing but blue. It was a feeling of freedom, perfection, and perhaps traits of an obsessive compulsion that never took hold. What did I miss instead? Not a lot I assume, I turned out just fine, I managed to follow enough to get through, but what did I gain? An eternal world view, a place to go in times of pain, a sense of serenity, and a space to process thoughts clearly. This I believe was also the perfect training ground for my imagination. I say build all classrooms with big windows, let children's minds run free, and celebrate daily whatever they see.
SUGARBEE XX 15/03/13
Welcome to the Kingdom of Dreams. This is the gatekeeper who wishes you safely on your way as you slip deeper into the night rhythm, on your way to play in dream land, where anything can and does happen. Now while the gatekeeper may look a burly, even a little angry, he needs to be this way to frighten off all the frightening things and to be able to frighten off all the frightening things, he needs to look more frightening than they are. If you think he doesn't look very frightening, remember the things he is frightening are actually very scared of him and that works out nicely, because he can't be too scary or else he would frighten you off. And that's why most of your dreams are nice dreams, but what about the bad dreams then? How do they get through into dreamland you ask? Well there is a backdoor, it's old and doesn't shut properly. It's a sorry state of affairs, but such is life and in the end, it just makes the good dreams feel better.
SUGARBEE XX 14/03/13
Bliss, eternal sunshine, clarity, heat, and dreams. Welcome to the beach that seems to stretch for miles uninterrupted and beautiful all at the same time. How far to run? How many cartwheels to turns? How does the sand feel as it slides through your toes? Yes, this is bliss. The beach above is Altona Beach, the last port of call for Zone One train fares, far enough out that you can justify a day trip to the beach and get very excited on the way out there. And let's not forget Altona beach feels like this year round. Okay sure it's less warm in winter, but that's when winter charm weaves its way in and delivers ultra fresh in its place. I couldn't say a bad thing about Altona Beach; I have a place for it in my heart, perhaps because for so long it was the final destination and then mid way point on a number of bike rides I've taken. The feeling of arrived. Walk a few minutes west of the bridge (actual west which is to the right side in the photo) you encounter wave boarders doing their thing all weekend, and perhaps one day I will give this a go, but for now I'm happy arriving here and feeling the sand slide through my toes.
SUGARBEE XX 13/03/13
Sculpture is a grand thing, often great on a grand scale. Take Henry Moore as an example, he made massive sculptures that dwarfed the viewer in abstraction. http://www.henrymoore.com. Works that ask you think about things, maybe reform opinions on life. This is an art form that provokes discussion and splits opinion. Sometimes it's very open to interpretation, sometimes obvious in intention. It is dependent on a number of factors, the artist, the audience, the environment, and of course the work at hand. I can't tell you who made the circle sculptures above, approximately 5 foot high, but I can tell you that I tend to see the immediate possibilities for climbing, and these circles in the park score medium points, a jungle gym would score higher. Why medium points? The circles provide a challenge to climb on, a small amount of swing positions, high amount of balancing, and great jumping options if you are already a seasoned jumper. Add some bars, net ladder, hooks etc and we are getting closer to a high score, but the sculpture side of things is transforming out of existence, so let's rescue it back by placing a smaller circle inside one here and suddenly you have sculpture and excellent climbing frame in one and the monkey in me in heaven. But seriously folks, there is one sculpture that beats all others hands down and I'm very happy to share it with you here, the link is too long, so in Google Image Search enter: Giant Rubber Ducky and have a very happy rest of the day.
SUGARBEE XX 12/03/13
Presenting the age of human tram ticket patrol.
Friendly, efficient and reliable. Greeted with a smile, affordable and
recognisable. Easy to operate, straight forward and honest. I want to
keep it positive so I will not compare a worked perfectly retired system
with that which has replaced it. Instead let's have a moments silence
for the end of common sense. Back in the day you bought your tickets on
board the tram, the conductors were proud and helpful and operated for
113 years, a perfect piece of history. Someone without a heart in
government removed the tram conductors from the trams back in 1998 and
the following link with give you an interesting run down of trams in
Melbourne and Kolkata, India, the only two cities outside Europe with operating currently trams http://tramconductors.net
The following link gives you information on an exhibition in Melbourne
about trams and with this information at hand, I might have to take a
stroll along and see the exhibition.
SUGARBEE XX 11/03/13
That is a serious bike, built for conquering
incredible terrain. I love to ride, I love my bike, mine is a sleek
machine that carries me anywhere and everywhere I need to go, red, fast
and awesome. And many riders feel the same about their bikes. It is a
love affair of sorts, it gets to the point where you don't want anyone
else to even sit on your bike, a few tinkers here and there and your
ride is all out of whack. That's just icky, not to mention dangerous.
But back to the bike above, those tyres, (approximately 3 times fatter than standard tyres) imagine the bounce you can get,
there is no suspension, so the mechanics simplify and the weight drops.
I could pick this bike up with one hand easy, it is a lightweight god
of the road. No getting caught in tram tracks, no worrying about small
obstacles anymore, just roll right on over the top. Maybe this bike is
just over the top? Until I ever get to ride it, I cannot say, I have to
leave that judgement up to the owners. But I can confidentially state it
looks like a whole lot of fun, not to mention it is the meanest looking
bike I have ever laid eyes on.
SUGARBEE XX 10/03/13
I can only see 5 and there are more than 5 balls in that jar, so either I am reading it wrong or it's an optical illusion. Maybe all the 5's are talking to me; it's too loud and would be better if there were only 5 in the jar. They definitely have 5 printed on them, but I wonder now how many balls are in the jar. Likely about 22, give or take a few, which leaves us with approx 110 units of nothing to work with. Nothing because the jar is sealed and the master threw away the key. I will have a strong latte please, because after all I am seated at Cafe 5, Centre Place, Melbourne, its fun in here, it's easy to have crazy conversation with strangers and there is a life size toy tiger watching you and the others as the day wears on. And suddenly I have a solution to my problem; I shall ask the Tiger how many balls are in the jar. He is the only one who knows, because he watched the master fill and seal the jar, then throw away the key. You know what happened then don't you, the Tiger ate the master and the key along with the fate of the balls was lost forever. Sometimes life is a hard roll.
SUGARBEE XX 09/03/13
