sydney a week ago - 2

I did manage to replace my charger cord, unexpectedly. I was able to use the cord that came with a charger pack I had whimsically added to my baggage at the last minute, can't even remember why but glad I did. I would have wasted a lot of time traipsing around Sydney otherwise. As it was I basically - I think - got everything done I wanted to get done, within reason ('reason' isn't something I am thoroughly familiar with when it comes to FIFO research forays). 

I'll tell you what I was doing. Really, two things: I was looking at what Harry Seidler said to his colleagues about Tapiola, when he visited it (and Helsinki) in mid-1966. That was interesting, and I got a few choice quotes (no images, or anything like that, but you know, shrug emoji) and the full detail of when he was there, etc. Will add value to my paper on Australians and Tapiola.

The bigger part of my research was looking at all the boxes of scripts for the radio comedy sitcom Mrs 'Obbs, which ran from 1940 or maybe '41 till 1950, when its star, Dan Agar died. 

The thing is the show had about 1900 epsiodes and these beautifully preserved scripts only number just under 800, but they seem to be sequential and a couple of them (not many) mention years (in the vein of, 'soon it will be 1943'), which confuses me. Well, I'll either figure out or figure out why it doesn't really matter much. 

(Saturday) I consider myself to have done the necessary SLNSW work and I am going to give myself some time off this morning, if going to a cafe and writing up masters thesis assessments is time off, and then I will go to Thirroul this afternoon for the next important phase of my trip. 

sydney a week ago - 1 (unless I can't replace my charger cord in which case, 1 and only).

Greetings from the East Sydney Hotel a week ago. I like it but it is loud! Also, while I was not unhappy with the small amount of time I got to spend at the state library this evening, I am unhappy that somehow I broke my laptop charger, so I am going to have to waste time and money tomorrow replacing that... 

'Unhappy' is going too far also but to blog is to whinge, I always say, and the other thing that irked me was when I decided to get off the airport train at Mascot to visit a block of flats designed by Harry Seidler in Rosebery, and my phone said 'go to bus stop A' and all I could see was 'D' (with a much bigger B than D on it, but whatever) and no plan anywhere to tell you where 'A' (or B or C) was. 

WHATEVS!

people 54 years ago

I have spent a considerable part of the day scanning and labelling some slides given to me for a paper I'm writing. They're pictures taken by a planning academic who is no longer with us but who was in Tapiola in June 1972 and was interested in the town and some of its features particularly things pertaining to transport. He was especially interested in cycling. 

They're great pictures but something that has entranced me is the people in the background just living their lives, seemingly quite wholesomely. You can't see their faces (usually) but you can see their clothes and the way they carry themselves in public. It's really interesting to me, not necessarily because it's Finland and a place I love, Tapiola, although I suppose that's not a negative. Have a look. 

save public housing protest last saturday

You should have been there! Maybe you were

flook in the perth daily news 2-15 june1952

 1 June 1952 was, you will recall, a Sunday.

Just when you think Fawkes' art can't get any better... not sure about this bizarre storyline though. 

closer to long service leave every day

My LSL starts on 1 July, and it's about two years overdue, in terms of burnout. No need to go into the machinations of that now. I'm looking forward to it though with some trepidation. I seriously suspect I won't get much actual relaxation but also that I don't really need any, just a reset. 

mentalist captions

I don't have a lot to say about The Mentalist, it is what it is, occasional moments of amusingly self-referential brilliance in a big sea of bumpf, but I am interested in the captions in the show, which often include things that aren't actually said, or which differ in minor ways from what is said, in unnecessary ways. That's all. 

Update: that's not all. In the above, the actual words spoken were '...like when your mom died'.