Monday Morning “Impediment to Productivity” – 20070319

Hi,

Well this week I am doing my best Scarlet O’Hara impersonation and thanks to the “kindness of strangers” and I am going to get to see the band Evermore play. As mentioned last week Jools and I were catching up with friends over from England (a mad night of drinks at Young & Jacksons, food at Southbank and more drinks at the Belgian Beer Bar) and while we were there an old friend (he’s not really a stranger, thanks Russell) handed me a GP ticket so I could go and see “the kiddie band” ( I get the feeling he’s NOT a fan). So the upshot of all this is I am writing this while sitting in the Senna stand at Albert Park lake while waiting for the race to start (and more importantly finish).

Chrome & Red CarAm I enjoying this? You bet. This is truly a “oncer”. Sitting next to me are a couple of Japanese petrol heads, some German Ferrari fans and some Americans from Long Beach. Everybody is surprisingly relaxed. I think they have done this before.

So in the spirit of the day lets have a F1 flash game. (“BLAME” Russell, it’s all his fault)
http://driventoperform.intel.com/eng/race/pitlaneflashgame/default.aspx (this requires a bunch of login crap)
This one is easier to deal with http://www.funnygames.co.nz/play/grand-prix

Meanwhile back at the race. This is so loud. The cars all just went past to line up on the starting grid (see how fast I pick up on the lingo) and they aren’t even trying and its deafening. Great, now they are using planes to deafen me. Our taxpayer dollars at work, the last F18 jet in the country just strolled past at “slow saunter”. Damn it just vanished, straight up.

“Sand Blasters: The Extreme Sand Sculpting Championship” think Mythbusters meets the beach. 16 of the best sand sculptors from across America go to San Diego, California,build amazing sand castles and then the surprise. Explosions! Over the course of this intense two-day competition, five of the eight sculptures are randomly selected for complete destruction by a Hollywood pyrotechnics crew (not Adam and Jamie). Then just to keep it interesting they play the video in reverse and slow motion. Silly yes?

Red Car in Pit LaneOk, we are now halfway through the race. Impressions so far.
Its loud. Really, really, really loud. The television doesn’t really convey how fast or loud these things are. So far its been a red blur followed by a white & blue blur and they’re followed by a pair of stunningly pretty blue & green blurs. Jools told me to take pictures. This is way easier said than done. By the time you have registered that the car is in the viewfinder and pushed the button all you end up with is a picture of asphalt.

F1 GP 2007One of the pretty blue and red and yellow cars just did a 360 spin on the pit lane in front of us. He only just missed the crash barrier. This is bloody dangerous.

Oh look the red car won. That means its time to find the concert stage.

Here is a link to a slow and mercifully quiet car, British artist Benedict Radcliffe created this truly amazing, full-scale sculpture of a Subaru Impreza. It looks like a computer model overlayed on a street photo, but it’s real, complete with Yokohama wire frame tires (nice touch that). Apparently local traffic cops weren’t pleased that the art was parked outside of the gallery on the street, as over the course of a few days, it was issued a few parking tickets!

http://news.windingroad.com/etc/wonder-woman-your-car-is-ready%e2%80%a6/

Evermore 2{time passes}

Yaay! The band were absolutely great (some of the harmony stuff was a bit iffy) but they’re a really good rock band and they know how to play. This was just so much fun. Much better than the race. If you get a chance, do catch them live.

On my way home now and what I really want to know is how come the public transport system is working better than it does during a normal week?
So to sum up. F1 racing “frankly my dears I don’t give a damn”… But I did enjoy the day. Definitely a funny once. Evermore on the other hand I don’t think they are out of my system yet.

EvermoreAnd lastly notdeadyet.com.au had a look at Imogen Heap (another obsession), Hot Rod Cadets and The Rewinds. Some good stuff , go and have a listen.

Thanks so much Russell, I owe you one.

Whatever we currently pass off as normalcy will be resumed next week

thatch

{Currently listening to Evermore, Like you’re surprised }
{Currently reading: Richard Dawkin’s “God Delusion” }
{Quick Status Check: Listening to F1 racing cars. This is hell}
{Crop Circle Status: Roll on May 2007… not long now}

Published
Categorized as Mondays

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.