All posts by Paul Costigan

Big Coal

carbon, climate change, energy, landscape, politics, sustainability, , ,

Big Coal: It’s time to celebrate (or not) Australia Day

meanwhile people in North West NSW, continue to battle Big Coal.

From the Guardian (Friday 24 January): This Australia day, us underdogs will fight Big Coal to save Maules Creek. In the battle that is gripping my community, my fifth generation farming family and I are siding with traditional owners and environmentalists against miners to save the land we love; an article by Phil Laird.

This Australia Day, many of us will gather to reflect on and celebrate what’s great about our democracy. It’s our good fortune as a nation to be blessed with abundant natural resources that are our common wealth. Our fertile land, clean air and water underpin our country’s agricultural heritage, which has fed and clothed us. Australia’s native wildlife is unique, and the bush where Australians walk, fish, hunt and camp is habitat for the animals that are emblems of the country itself. Traditional owners of the country have the longest continuing culture in the world, and a connection to the bush that goes back tens of thousands of years. click here for the Guardian Article

 

Play

health & well being, landscape, parks, People, planning, play, sustainability, ,

Play, Recreation and Children

While sustainable settlements debates more often than not focus on such key issues as climate change, carbon, energy, green infrastructure, weather etc, emphasis must also remain on the rights of children to have access to play.

It is overdue that planning and development legislation to be inclusive of the ‘need to create time and space for children to engage in spontaneous play, recreation and creativity, and to promote societal attitudes that support and encourage such activity’ (1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child article 31).

The problem has been that play has been a separated issue for planning. At worst it is a token of optional matter to be addressed. The contemporary view is that whether the planning is for a street, a park, a suburb or any form of redevelopment of urban areas, play and the rights for children to have access to safe and engaging recreation must be as important as the rest of the requirements. This is rarely the case.

Continue reading Play →

Banks and Climate Change

climate change,
re-post from ACF website
Banks and Climate Change

In a piece by Ian Lowe, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, he speaks of the links the ANZ Bank has to climate change. Apparently the bank makes big loans to coal export companies.

This link between bank (and many other organisations) is explored in Guy Pearse’s book Greenwash.

Continue reading Banks and Climate Change →

Trees and Carbon

biodiversity, carbon, climate change, landscape, sustainability, , ,

Big old trees grow faster, making them vital carbon absorber

from the Conversation ( where would we be without The Conversation?)

botgrdn-P1020238The linked article has ramifications for the current forest management methods and choices about what to log or not. The piece also reminds us all of the importance of all trees, not only for shade and green infrastructure benefits, but also as carbon sinks.

While becoming carbon neutral must be the top priority, it remains that trees are part of the adaptation processes of dealing with some of the carbon in our atmosphere. This points to the need to increase our urban forests and to ensure that new developments include more than adequate trees to deal with heat island effects, to provide for increase health and wellbeing and to be part of city-wide urban carbon sinks.

Continue reading Trees and Carbon →

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

climate change, the media, , , ,
Opinion:
Be Afraid, be Very Afraid of balance as provided by the ABC

cimate

Once upon a time I was a rusted on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) watcher. I relied on the ABC, and SBS, for most of my news and current affairs.

Over time as a reaction to the style of gotcha journalism that became the norm on the ABC, radio and TV, I started watching less and less. Today as the result of this quiet reduction in watching and listening to the ABC, I have found that I now routinely do not watch or listen to the ABC.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid →

Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health

biodiversity, climate change, energy, governance, green infrastructure, health & well being, landscape, legislation, sustainability, , , , ,

Reporting on research being undertaken

Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health

You are urged to ‘watch this space’ for research and reports by scientists who have been carrying out research on Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health. To quote from their website:

Safeguarding future health in Australian cities, The CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship has funded scientists and researchers from a range of disciplines to develop adaptation strategies which will improve the health of urban populations in the face of a variable and changing climate.

The Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health Cluster was established in 2010 and officially launched in March 2011 at a Conference in Cairns, bringing together nine different partner organisations focusing on 7 major research projects.

Continue reading Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health →

Grace Marchant Garden

Arts & Culture, gardens, travel, Urban, women/equity, ,
Review: Grace Marchant Garden, San Francisco
Location the Filbert Steps between Telegraph Hill Boulevard down to Levi Plaza and the Embarcadero.

387-marchant

This is a story about local people caring for their own. In the first instance one woman’s determination to make the open space beautiful around her new home. And then a story about the local community who have since stepped in to keep and maintain her legacy, now called the Grace Marchant Garden.

Continue reading Grace Marchant Garden →

Climate Change on TV

climate change, sustainability, ,

Climate Change on TV

How Little Time Television News Devotes To Climate Change

an article about climate change on TV re-posted from the Huffingtton post

Climate change got more coverage on broadcast news in 2013 than in the previous few years, but the issue still didn’t get nearly as much attention as it did in 2009, Media Matters found in a new analysis. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox together featured more coverage in 2013 than they did in 2012. The amount of airtime granted to climate change on both the Sunday shows and the nightly news was up, too — to a total of 27 minutes, and an hour and 42 minutes, respectively, for the entire year. The progressive media watchdog group Media Matters totaled the time broadcasters devoted to climate change for a new report released Thursday. read the full article here

Angel of the North

Arts & Culture, cultural, visual arts, ,
Review: Visual Art
Angel of the North at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Angel-P1030341

It was just this week that I managed to get myself down the wonderful National Gallery of Australia’s sculpture garden to have a look at the Angel of the North. The piece has been on location for several years. This was the fist time I have seen this piece. Of course, this is the life-size marquette of the original Angel of the North, being about one tenth the size of the original.

Continue reading Angel of the North →

Urban Heat

climate change, green infrastructure, Opinions, politics, Urban, urban development, , , , ,
Opinion: Urban Trees and Heat
A case study of neglect and willful blindness?

Ainslie-P1010108

There was a routine piece in the Canberra Times about the current heat wave, temperature around and above 40 Degrees Celsius, and backyard trees or in some case about the lack of them. The article pointed to the now well established reality, that during such times those residential properties that lacked shade were suffering higher temperatures.

Continue reading Urban Heat →

photography

Arts & Culture, photography,
Photography exhibitions
an overview of some national & international photography, January 2013

Lee-Grant-P1020397Would we all have wings to zoom around the globe to visit a few photography exhibitions. But wait, that’s called the internet. So here are a few of the current exhibitions presently with an online presence that we have looked into recently.

This is a fairly random selection and we are linking to those where there is an accessible online exhibition. If a gallery has used flash and therefore there are no direct links, unfortunately they are fairly useless for this exercise. Shame there are a few that miss out, such as one of my favourite Singapore galleries: Gallery 2902. Continue reading photography →

Green Spaces and the Health Budgets

biodiversity, cities, climate change, green infrastructure, health & well being, landscape, legislation, parks, politics, sustainability, , ,

Green Spaces and the Health Budgets

re-posted from the BBC

In Australia planning authorities and government administrative services sections still do not address the proven links between health and the access to open spaces. One has to only look to the small budgets for parks initiatives and worse still to the shrinking allocations for park maintenance within local governments.

Meanwhile all our governments are under stress because of the increasing requirements being identified under their health portfolios.

Continue reading Green Spaces and the Health Budgets →

Health Wellbeing and Parks

climate change, green infrastructure, health & well being, landscape, legislation, parks, sustainability, , ,

re-posted from BBC, science and environment

It’s about the links between Health Wellbeing and Parks

Green spaces, Parks, have lasting positive effect on health and wellbeing

Living in an urban area with green spaces such as parks has a long-lasting positive impact on people’s mental well-being, a study has suggested. UK researchers found moving to a green space had a sustained positive effect, unlike pay rises or promotions, which only provided a short-term boost.

The authors said the results indicated that access to good quality urban parks was beneficial to public health. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Continue reading Health Wellbeing and Parks →

Judeo-Christian

Arts & Culture, Opinions, politics, religion, the media,
Opinion: what is the government doing?

and now we have a misuse of the term Judea-Christian

I would recommend first reading the Wikipedia contributions on the use of the term, Judea-Christian (click on the image).

This term, Judea-Christian, is  being thrown about by our Rabbott government and its appointed camp followers who are to review the yet to be implemented National Schools Curriculum.

There is now doubt that this carefully orchestrated use  of the term Judea-Christian is in fact a nasty stirring up of discrimination.

Continue reading Judeo-Christian →

Threats to Climate Action

climate change, governance, politics, sustainability, ,

Opinion: Climate in danger from Australia

Threats to Climate Action

re-post from the Guardian

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

rabbott01Once upon a time, not that many years ago, Australia was on the world stage as a leading in actions on climate change. It was not that a lot had actually happened. The truth was that a many new initiatives were being proposed.

The aura was that the country was on the move. The Australian Government was open to do business on climate change.

Other countries were admiring the remarkable turn around on climate change actions from those of the previous Howard government years. If you happened to have been overseas, you felt proud of your country and were able to discuss these issues in the knowledge that your country was out their doing its stuff; or at least about to do so.

Continue reading Threats to Climate Action →

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

climate change, Opinions, politics, Urban,

Opinion: Climate in danger from Australia

re-post from the Guardian

rabbott01Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Once upon a time, not that many years ago, Australia was on the world stage as a leading in actions on climate change. It was not that a lot had actually happened. The truth was that a many new initiatives were being proposed.

The aura was that the country was on the move. The Australian Government was open to do business on climate change. Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid →

Heat and Australia

cities, climate change, health & well being, sustainability, ,

What’s cranking up the heat across south-eastern Australia?

re-posted from The Conversation, Tess Parker, 13 January 2013

In the midst of a January heatwave in South East Australia, with temperature outside being around 40 degrees Celsius for several days, it is refreshing to see the science being discussed as to what happens and why. As usual there will be the trolls who try to distract the facts being put forward. I for one thank the researchers who continue to seek evidence based answers to the many queries around weather and the links to climate change. Here’s the link to the piece by Tess Parker, on The Conversation

Tale of two Arboretums, The National Arboretum, Canberra

Opinions,
Tale of two Arboretums
The National Arboretum, Canberra

Nat-Arb-P1030257

Once the devastating 2003 Canberra fires were over, the Canberra landscapes to the west of the Lake Burley Griffin were left denuded of the previous forest. The subsequent international design competition delivered a much celebrated design for a National Arboretum.

Continue reading Tale of two Arboretums, The National Arboretum, Canberra →

Education in Biodiversity and Ecology

climate change, food, green infrastructure, ,
Re-Posted from The Sustainable Settlements Institute

The urgent requirement for education to address ecology and biodiversity

botgrdn-P1020308

Our cities and towns need to be adapted to deal with the cur­rent and future pres­sures of cli­mate change. This requires a new level of expertise. One essential element in this the education of the professionals who must deal with climate change adaptation in the design, planning and development of our urban spaces. Green wash, which is the current standard, is no longer acceptable. Continue reading Education in Biodiversity and Ecology →

Cities and Biodiversity

biodiversity, cities, climate change, green infrastructure, landscape, professions, sustainability, , ,

Re-posted from The Nature of Cities

Cities and biodiversity and national parks.

It is about equating the Natural Environment of National Parks to the natural environment of Cities – there are the one environment!

Many the time I have had frustrating debates with bureaucracies over how we address the issues of biodiversity and landscape. Often it results in the otherwise intelligent bureaucrat insisting that we talk about two separate entities, the built environment and the natural environment. This perception has also surfaced in discussions with organisations such as Conservation Foundations and their like.

Continue reading Cities and Biodiversity →

Education in ecology and biodiversity

biodiversity, cities, climate change, design, governance, green infrastructure, health & well being, landscape, planning, professions, sustainability, urban design, , , ,

The Nature of Cities

Education in ecology and biodiversity

If cities look to stay within their boarders, there is the need to seek acceptable ways to intensify the number of residents within the older suburbs. This requires an intelligent engagement with the present residents of suburban areas on a case by case basis.

Given the need to address climate change within the suburbs as they are being redeveloped and upgraded throws up a host of requirements that should have by now have been built into legislation. Sadly this is not so as most of the re-development and intensification as been left to laissez-faire market forces.

Continue reading Education in ecology and biodiversity →

Cities and urban wildlife

biodiversity, cities, climate change, green infrastructure, health & well being, landscape, sustainability, , ,

re-post from the Guardian

Cities and Urban Wildlife

Take any city and ask, has the government in place a long-term strategy to enhance the biodiversity through maintaining and increasing its green infrastructure? This requires not just consideration of the public realm but also ways to encourage citizens that this needs to happen in the backyard of every home.

In the past governments have often established arboretums to undertake research on trees and shrubs. It is now far more realistic to continue the aims of arboretums not by having these specialist sites, instead the approach needs to be to increase the range of trees and shrubs within the urban areas themselves.

Continue reading Cities and urban wildlife →

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Arts & Culture, cultural, Opinions, politics, ,
Opinion: Political Stupidity Reigns Again

The Latest from our Rabbott Government

rabbott01Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The national edukashon minister announced that after years of development, years of consultations and a bloody huge amount of work, that he considers he needs to appoint two close political associates to look into getting ‘balance’ back into the curriculum. They state that they will be independent. That probably means their report will be independent of facts and of intellect.

It is obvious that this is more about getting the old ‘culture’ wars started again and to drive particular ideological points into the headlines while loads of other disastrous changes are being put through by the Rabbott.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid →

Cities and Women

cities, equity, governance, health & well being, People, politics, sustainability, , ,

Re-Post from the Guardian

Making cities safe for women and girls

It’s about Cities and Women:  World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty is focusing on how to tackle violence against women and girls in public spaces Whether walking city streets, using public transport, going to school, or selling goods at the market, women and girls are subject to the threat of sexual harassment and violence. This reality of daily life limits women’s freedom to get an education, to work, to participate in politics – or to simply enjoy their own neighbourhoods. Yet despite its prevalence, violence and harassment against women and girls in public spaces remains a largely neglected issue, with few laws or policies in place to address it.  click here for the full article

Climate Deniers

climate change, governance, politics, sustainability,

Re-Post from Climate News Network

‘Dark money’ funds US climate deniers

LONDON, 6 January – Approximately three quarters of the hundreds of millions of dollars that go to US climate change denial organisations is from unidentifiable sources, according to new research in the journal Climatic Change.

Robert Brulle, a sociologist at Drexel University in the US, set himself the challenge of trying to identify the financial backers who bankrolled more than 100 US organisations, the Climate Deniers, that make up what he calls the “climate change counter movement”.

Continue reading Climate Deniers →

Cafe Music

Arts & Culture, travel, ,
Opinion: Cafes and Loud Music

We wandered recently over to Green Square Kingston for some late breakfast and coffee. There are now four different cafes serving breakfast/brunch in this one place with another across the street. I would estimate that there would be at least another six further around the block. We thought we may check out a new cafe that had opened just weeks earlier.

Continue reading Cafe Music →

Women and the city

cities, design, equity, governance, People, politics, sustainability, urban design, ,

Re-Posted from The Global Urbanist

A woman’s right to enjoy the city

Dealing with the overlooked issue in Urban Design, Women and the City. As part of our series on eliminating violence against women and girls in our cities produced in collaboration with the Huairou Commission, Mumbai architect Pallavi Shrivastava offers a personal reflection on how the threat of violence forces women not only to change our movements but also prevents us from enjoying our cities, and thus from helping to make them the cities we want them to be. click here for the full article.

Public Health

climate change, design, governance, health & well being, legislation, People, sustainability,

Re-Posted from UK Landscape Institute

Public health and landscape: creating healthy places (November 2013)

The UK Landscape Institute believes that greater priority needs to be given to prevention of ill health in public health and social care. All those involved in creating healthy places, public health professionals, planners and landscape architects, need to recognise that landscape has enormous potential to improve our health and wellbeing. In Australia, despite all the evidence being available, it has been a struggle to have the Australian Government recognise the importance of the links between our public spaces and the population’s health and well being.

 Click here for UK Landscape Institute Public Health Policy links

 

 

Climate Deniers

climate change, governance, politics, sustainability, ,

Re-Posted from The Fifth Estate

Peter Newman: Why climate whingers and climate deniers need to get real

Any climate change-related article in The Conversation, and indeed any newspaper, attracts some of the most diabolical discourse, the most offensive personal abuse and the most deeply felt rhetoric. It is not very elevating to read. Climate Skeptics dominate the media.

It has of course spilled over into politics and threatens to tear apart the fabric of our society.

Continue reading Climate Deniers →

Exhibition Catalogue

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Visual Arts

The Souvenir Genre, an essay by Mel Campbell on exhibition catalogues, published in Meanjin January 2014.

One aspect of visiting exhibitions is the catalogue. Sometimes we flick through it and sometimes we purchase a copy. The catalogue may be purchased as a souvenir of the exhibition but once away from the exhibition, the publication has a life of its own.

There are several exhibition catalogues in the queue to be reviewed through this blog. The first in line is most likely to be Australia, from the 2013 Royal Academy exhibition in London. This exhibition was partnership with the National Gallery of Australia. There is an interesting story there to come concerning reviews and the response from the NGA as well as an interesting perspective from a Sydney commentator.

Meanwhile here’s a recommended article by Mel Campbell on exhibition catalogues.

 

———————————————–

Paul Costigan, 4 January 2014

sustainable communities

climate change, design, governance, sustainability,

Re-Posted from Island Press

Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities

Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World, Parick M Condon 

Questions of how to green the North American economy, create a green energy and transportation infrastructure, and halt the deadly increase in greenhouse gas buildup dominate our daily news. Related questions of how the design of cities can impact these challenges dominate the thoughts of urban planners and designers across the U.S. and Canada.

With admirable clarity, Patrick Condon discusses transportation, housing equity, job distribution, economic development, and ecological systems issues and synthesizes his knowledge and research into a simple-to-understand set of urban design rules that can, if followed, help save the planet.

No other book so clearly connects the form of our cities to their ecological, economic, and social consequences. No other book takes on this breadth of complex and contentious issues and distills them down to such convincing and practical solutions. And no other book so vividly compares and contrasts the differing experiences of U.S. and Canadian cities.

Continue reading sustainable communities →

Public Art

Arts & Culture, travel, visual arts, , , ,
Review: Public Art

Sculpture of Ben Chifley and John Curtin, Canberra

chifley-curtin02

I have driven passed this sculptural piece, by Peter Corlett, many many times. The pair of sculptures look very natural on the corner to the extent that I dare say the casual observer and busy drivers may pass by and miss that they are bronze figures. There’s no plinth. They have been attached directly onto the footpath.

Continue reading Public Art →

Public Transit

sustainability, transport,

Re-Blogged from WIRED

Public Transit Is Underfunded Because the Wealthy Don’t Rely on It, By Keith Barry 2013

Canberra has traditionally not had a great public transport system. The population is 350,000 and as it continues to climb it is approaching the levels to support some forms of rapid bus transit or a light rail systems. There has been some very strange opposition. Maybe the article from the WIRE magazine goes some way to giving some of the possible reasons behind this opposition.

Continue reading Public Transit →

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

climate change, Opinions, politics, ,
Opinion: Be afraid, be very Afraid

Stupidity in action

From The Guardian Australia: Tony Abbott’s top business adviser accuses IPCC of ‘dishonesty and deceit’. ‘The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling,’ Maurice Newman says.

It does not get much worse than this. The Rabbott government has been doing some stupid things of late, and there’s promise of even more stupidity to come in 2014.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid →

Central Park Sydney

climate change, green infrastructure, parks, retail, Urban, urban development, , , ,
Review: Urban Development

Sydney’s Central Park development, Chippendale, Sydney

view-P1020666photographs by Paul Costigan – click on image for larger

The Central Park development of the old brewery site opposite UTS in Sydney, has attracted much attention in the last couple of years. Most of this was in the form of churnalism, being column space based on using the developer’s media releases. There has also been the expected paragraphs of praise by ‘industry’ experts in profession’s trade magazines.

Continue reading Central Park Sydney →

Journalism

Arts & Culture, journalism, Opinions
Guardian Opinion

Antony Loewenstein’s wish list for journalism in 2014

Reporters have a choice: to either continue being regarded as untrustworthy, or to be seen as willing to hold the powerful into account. Here are my suggestions for better journalism:

Click here for his article in the guardian

PS: If the ABC could cease having politicians on Q & A, maybe the program format could deliver real debates and possibly become watchable. We need engaging commentators not politicians or their stooges on such programs.

Art Gallery Exhibitions

Arts & Culture, cultural, photography, travel, visual arts, , , , , ,
Review: Visual Arts

An overview of accessing Australia’s major visual art gallery exhibition programs though their websites. Date: Christmas 2013.

stairs-Wei-P1010762

This is an overview of what visual arts major art galleries are telling us is available around the country this Christmas. Our major art galleries endeavour to have their local audiences come through the doors. The challenge is to convince someone interested in all manner of visual arts, including photography, to spend some of our discretionary leisure time and dollars to travel (pay airfares and accommodation) to see the collections and special exhibitions.

Continue reading Art Gallery Exhibitions →

be afraid, be very afraid

Opinions, politics
Opinion: Threats to human rights in Australia

rabbott01The Rabbott government has moved quickly to shut down and to strangle so many progressive, financial, immigration, education, indigenous, disability, social welfare and climate programs, that it is difficult to identify which of their ideological decisions are the most dangerous to the future of this country.

Freedom of speech and the freedom from discrimination are both fundamental to our way of life. Yet these are now very much under immediate threat thanks to this inhuman national government.

Continue reading be afraid, be very afraid →

Innovation

Opinions, politics, technology, ,
Opinion: about manufacturing and innovation
and a few more topics

While I am not too worried about the closure of GM’s (Holden) manufacturing plants in Australia in 2017, I am concerned as to whether manufacturing as an Australian industry and its associated innovations are not being supported. It is hard to find intelligent comment on these subjects in the Australian media.

Continue reading Innovation →

Monash Gallery of Art

Arts & Culture, cultural, visual arts, ,
Review: Visual Arts

Claudia Terstappen: In the shadow of change, Monash Gallery of Art

There’s a must see exhibition of landscape photography on at Monash Gallery of Art (Melbourne). This gallery is the Home of Australian Photography.

This body of work is an example of an artist expanding the great traditions of photographing our planet. It is obvious from the photographs that Claudia Terstappen has a romantic view of our landscapes and wants us to be positive about appreciating the world around us.

You are urged to set off for the Monash Gallery of Art and allow time to sit and enjoy.

The exhibition closes 26th January 2014 – check the website here.   and ..

Continue reading Monash Gallery of Art →

Botanic Gardens

Arts & Culture, green infrastructure, parks, photo-essay, , , ,
Review: Australian National Botanic Gardens

botgrdn-P1020270

On the western edge of Canberra’s CBD, next to the Australian National University, on the side of Black Mountain, sits one of the National Capital’s often overlooked treasures, the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Although it figures in tourist brochures, I am not aware of large numbers of visitors. I am also not convinced that local Canberrans visit this site very often or that they think to take their visitors there.

Continue reading Botanic Gardens →

Community Engagement

trees, Urban, ,
Opinion: A Community Engagement Case Study

The community engagement on proposals to shift the Kings Highway Trees near Braidwood NSW

A Case Study where full Community Engagement was required but not employed.

The following opinion piece discusses an overlooked opportunity for real Community Engagement in dealing with the issues around the memorial avenue of trees leading into Braidwood on the Kings Highway from both sides of the township.

with photographs by Gael Newton

Brdwd-Trees-P1020986

Continue reading Community Engagement →

Christmas Stories

Arts & Culture, photo-essay, photography,
Photo-essay: Photographs of Christmas 2013

A collection of photographs gathered more or less locally.  

there two more collections – here and here

We were traveling back from Sydney and made a stop over for dinner at Bowral. There’s a good take away noodle shop half way down the main street.

I took the time to observe the Christmas decoration in the local shops. (click on any image to enlarge them)

Here’s an image in the R M Williams window.

bowral-Christmas01 Continue reading Christmas Stories →

Distraction

Arts & Culture, distraction, Opinions, random, technology, ,
Opinion: Damon Young: Distraction
blame the mind, not the machines

An interesting few words from Damon Young on the machines that distract some people. Damon likes to observe – here’s one of his people observations. I think that too often I have observed his subject.

An ordinary suburban cafe, with an ordinary sullen teenage waitress and faux-friendly barista. The tables are unvarnished barrels. The cups are marmalade jars. And the coffee is bitter, weak and overpriced.

Continue reading Distraction →

Sponsorship

Arts & Culture, Opinions, visual arts, , ,
Opinion: About some of the not so nice links that come with sponsorship and funding.

packer2It was this story on Crikey “Packer’s Sydney arts donation a lay-down misere‘ that took me back to discussions I had been involved with over several decades including when we used to debate such issues openly in the arts. In recent years, all sorts of Sydney groups joined the public debates about the horrors of gambling and in this instance campaigned, unsuccessfully, against the granting of the license for a second casino.

As the deal was signed, it was arts organisations in Sydney who had agreed to take money from James Packer as the payment demanded for the granting of the new casino license. James Packer has never shown an interest in the arts.

 

Continue reading Sponsorship →

Political Distraction

Opinions, politics, random, ,
Opinion: Rabbott Distracts while cutting deep

rabbott01Very cleverly  the Rabbott Government used the ‘shock’ announcements of vehicle manufacturing closures to distract attention from the government’s cuts to key social programs.

The mainstream media filled headline after headline about the closure of a particular car manufacturing company.

Our loyal opposition parties did not help as they joined in crying out loud through the media about the closures. Meanwhile damage was being done elsewhere in plain sight.

Continue reading Political Distraction →

Equality

Opinions, politics, religion,
Opinion: The High Court Judgement on Marriage

Interesting to hear the mainstream media go on about the high court decision on marriage equality. Yes the ACT legislation was voted down by the judges.

But the real story is how the judges went further and made the call on what the court will allow to be constitutionally recognised as marriage when the Australian Parliament decides to get its act together and do the logical thing.

Under the judgement by the high court, once the National Parliament has passed the inevitable changes, the high court will not stand in the way of the changes, that is there will be no avenue for a challenge by all those vexatious religious types.

David Marr is on the case and has provided a neat summary of what really happened with this quiet landmark ruling by  high court – here is his article from the Guardian.

Photography

Arts & Culture, travel, visual arts
From the Guardian Australia

How photographing events stops us living them

I identify with Jillian’s comments – click here or on the image above. Many times I witness people wander up to an art work or some scene, and without any thought, they quickly pull up the camera, iphone or ipad, snap and then walk on. They do not even take the time to really look. Got the photo, move onto the next one.

Outside the National Gallery of Australia, people sometimes bring their car to a halt, jump out, snap a few, then it is back in the car and off they go. They have done the National Gallery! and have the photo to prove it. Where was the enjoyment in all that.

Scandal

Arts & Culture, television, ,
Review: TV series on DVD

Scandal

scandal800Trash TV is alive and well. There is real trash such as Revenge (a review some time soon). Then there are programs such as Scandal that come with a fictional framework with a touch of reality, that really tries to be serious, but moves back and forth from potentially being a reasonable political crime drama to a fluffy and unrealistic soap opera. It can be fun to watch but depends on your mood and what you are looking for entertainment.

Warning; We are half way through series two – so if you have not seen these episodes, spoilers may follow.

Continue reading Scandal →

Workplace Bullying

bullying, Opinions, ,
Opinion: Workplace Bullying

An emphasis on the Not For Profit Sector

It was after a couple of conversations in the last months with people with whom I was able share experiences about bullying in various workplaces, that I have decided to make research in this area one of my ongoing topics.

As I have spent most of my working life in the Not For Profit sector I am including this sector as part of the main focus of this research.

This line of research and subsequent comments will be a ‘work in progress’.

Continue reading Workplace Bullying →

The Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson

Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson: On being not here

Do you now a Patrick Henderson?

Patrick-Henderson

Patrick Henderson attends meetings called to carry out the business of the gallery for which he is a company director.

When Patrick sits at the table he remains very alert to the presence of his mobile and aware that there may be emails, text messages and tweets that require his attention.

Patrick’s commitment to these distractions is such that he cannot ignore them. Because of his lack of control of the technology, poor Patrick has become one of the many who are physically present somewhere but are rarely mentally completely there.

Continue reading The Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson →

Sidney Nolan

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , , ,
Review: Visual Arts

The Nolan Collection at the Canberra Museum and Gallery

Canberra has been blessed with two major collections of Sidney Nolan. One is on permanent exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. There is also the important special collection at the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG)

nolan-P1020381

I recommend a visit to the Canberra Museum and Gallery to see this collection (and at times maybe the other exhibits). Although you may have to bring in your own chairs to spend any time in this exhibition. I am not sure who thought that to perch on those silly vinyl foot-stools in the middle of the room would enhance a visit.

Continue reading Sidney Nolan →

Urbanity: Green Infrastructure

green infrastructure, trees, Urban, urban development
Opinion: The Realities of Urban Green Infrastructure

montalbanoIt has been while watching the episodes of that wonderful program (on DVD),  Montalbano, that the beauty of the Sicilian cities has been revealed. They are just fabulously charming. (see footnotes)

These are very Mediterranean city scenes with off white buildings, tight streets and plenty of lanes and hill-side stairs.

What is missing are the trees. There are the few decorative ones and those on the surrounding hills. But for one brought up with the luxury of lush street trees, green front yards (lawns) and sidewalks, these streets and lanes are very devoid of greenery.

Beautiful – but bare.

Continue reading Urbanity: Green Infrastructure →

Cultural Writing

Arts & Culture, cultural, journalism, the media, Urban, visual arts, , ,
Opinion: Cultural Criticism

The current state of Cultural Reviews and Critical Comment

amstrdm-40018

Recently the Guardian ran an opinion piece on the Barangaroo development on the eastern edge of Sydney’s CBD. The author pointed out that she had been involved in the project.

I suggest that the author failed to declare that they had been more than just simply ‘involved’. In fact they had been a leading professional on the team that had won the design competition, that had then seen their designs criticised publicly by people such as Paul Keating, then had their wining design rejected by the client and a new design developed and the contracts awarded to other teams.

Continue reading Cultural Writing →

Parks Public Private

green infrastructure, parks, Urban, , ,
Review: Grand Hope Park Los Angeles

This is an opinion piece, not just on a particular park, but about the story behind the park. This park is run by a not-for-profit organization. Should there be more of these in Australia as local government budgets get squeezed and the green infrastructure, trees etc, are being placed low on the priority? Many parks and recreation managers, urban tree supervisors and/or landscape project officers tell the same tale that their resources are being reduced and even the day-to-day maintenance is falling behind.

568-hopePark

Continue reading Parks Public Private →

Julia Gillard

Arts & Culture, politics, women/equity,
Announcement:

Anne Summers Conversation presents Julia Gillard on DVD

Anne Summers has announced the release of the two conversations with Julia Gillard.

For more information, click on the image to the left (or here) to be taken to Anne’s website.

Anne’s “the Looking Glass” has other useful links and information so please support her work by at least having a look – click here.

Canberra Urbanity: Marsden Street

climate change, green infrastructure, Urban, urban development, , , ,
An Anniversary

About two years ago, during 2010 – 2011, this quiet residential area in the inner north of Canberra was the battle ground over a very silly proposed redevelopment of two blocks of land.

street-April2013-1

Once the residents had been through the tribunal process, and before the decisions were handed down, the complex chain of events was documented. It is called Do Onto Others.

It is a long read – click here.

Voice of Wisdom

Opinions
Opinion: Voices of Wisdom amongst so much ranting.

Comments on the statements by Australia’s Governor General, Quentin Bryce.

Every now and then Australians are taken aback when one of our national representatives actually makes intelligent and thoughtful contributions to public debates.  This happened recently with the delivery of the Boyer lectures by Australia’s first female Governor General, Quentin Bryce.

Continue reading Voice of Wisdom →

Canberra Urbanity

climate change, green infrastructure, trees, Urban, urban development, , , , ,
Climate Change adaptation falters in the suburbs

climate-P1020350

Dealing with the complex issues of climate change adaptation should by now have become a priority and part of the everyday for any local government in their oversight of design, planning, development and the re-development of our settlements.

Here in Canberra we have been the subject of a decade or two of pronouncements from newly appointed chief planners on how they are to oversee development that is sustainable and .. lots of other spin that always sounds so sensible!

Continue reading Canberra Urbanity →

Philosophy in the Garden

Arts & Culture, books & readings, , ,
Review: Book

Damon Young, Philosophy in the Garden

Melbourne University Press

From Damon’s own blog:

Damon Young explores one of literature’s most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens. For some, the garden provided a retreat from workaday labour; for others, solitude’s quiet counsel. For all, it played a philosophical role: giving their ideas a new life. This book reveals the profound thoughts discovered in parks, backyards and pot-plants. It does not provide tips for mowing overgrown cooch grass, or mulching a dry Japanese maple. It is a philosophical companion to the garden’s labours and joys.

Continue reading Philosophy in the Garden →

Urbanity – Bicycle

Opinions, random, Urban, , , ,
Opinion Piece: cycling on our roads.

First an admission.  I used  to be a reasonably keen urban cyclist . However some time back, I had two serious near misses whereby I was run off the road by local buses. After the last bruising,  the bike sat in garage till one day I sold it on. Whenever I can , I now walk instead. But I do miss the experience of cycling through neighbourhoods.

Today there was a very good summary in the Guardian on the situation and changes to urban cycling across many cities internationally. Click on the image below.

There’s currently a crazy debate here in Canberra about cyclists and vehicles and pedestrians. Crazy because the debate has been dominated by no so cool people who are not accepting of any other point of view. So I wonder what the problem is?

Continue reading Urbanity – Bicycle →

The Media

Opinions, random, the media, ,
Opinion: The state of Australian Media

The Democracy experiment continues to be under threat

An article from the Asia Sentinel hits the mark on the media issues in Australia.

A milestone of a dubious kind was passed in Australia recently when it was discovered that the number of public relations practitioners had for the first time exceeded the number of journalists actually working as reporters and editors. (Hamish McDonald)

The full article is a good read. Click here.

Canberra Urbanity: Jack Ross Park

green infrastructure, Urban, urban development, , , ,
Review: Landscape Architecture/Parks

Jack Ross Park, Kingston Foreshore, Canberra

Kngstn-Park-P1020140

This is a first venture into the new park within the slowly evolving foreshore development at Kingston , Canberra. First impressions are of lots of detail, very contemporary and any park besides the lake is to be a welcomed addition to local amenities.

Continue reading Canberra Urbanity: Jack Ross Park →

Food: in japan

Arts & Culture, photo-essay, random, travel
Photo-essay

Japan and food – an image

A photograph taken in 2006 of lunch time on a busy back street in Tokyo.

lunch-L1040534

The food was great.  Ordering in such places is always interesting as no-one there spoke English (and this is the usual off the tourist areas) and we spoke absolutely no Japanese. We managed through hand gestures and pointing and thanks to the politeness and very friendly nature of the owners. This experience was repeated often whereby the locals were both helpful and courteous to these foreigners who did not speak their language.

 

Art in the Street

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Art in the front yard

Canberra 16-17 November 2013

Take a quiet little street in Downer. Local artist Stephen Harrison is a resident. Stephen asks the neighbours if he can take over the street and their front yards for the weekend. They say yes. Stephen then brings in the work of  about three dozen artists. And so a fun weekend arrived……

Continue reading Art in the Street →

Photography and The Tableau

Arts & Culture, photography, visual arts, ,
Review: Anna Carey – Contemporary Photography

For travelers of urban space and cities, there is nothing more enjoyable as roaming streets and observing both the unusual and the ordinary. In reality most of time the ordinary and the unusual do tend to blend. Anyone who is an observer of street behaviour realises that there is not much that is ordinary about how people behave as they wander, rush or simply promenade about our urban thoroughfares. The streets of our cities are packed with these constantly changing tableaux. The realities are fun to observe as well as those things we conjure up in our imaginations about the buildings and the streets and the parks and the cosmopolitan mix of people.

Continue reading Photography and The Tableau →

NGA: Turner from the TATE

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Exhibition at the NGA 2013

Turner From The Tate
exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, June – September 2013.

Having visited this exhibition three times while it was in Canberra , once in Adelaide and having five times visited Turner in the Tate in London, I have been contemplating these experiences and offer the following comments as a review.

Continue reading NGA: Turner from the TATE →

Architecture & Awards

Opinions, Urban, urban development
Opinion Piece on the state of Australian Architecture Awards

frontNGA-P1020039 It was while standing in front of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), that it occurred to me that the extension, which includes the new entrance, had not figured in awards. I am fully aware of the controversies about how these extensions came about. Should any of that have excluded this architectural addition to the nation’s art gallery from being the recipient of awards.

I intend to write more about the NGA in the near future, but for now I my curiosity has turned to the architecture awards as run by the national professional body, the AIA. These awards are lauded nationally, so why not apply a reality check as to how their award winners really stack up.

Continue reading Architecture & Awards →

Climate Change

climate change, Opinions, politics, random,
“It’s time to stop this madness”
Philippines plea at UN climate talks
click on the image above for the speech whereby the Philippines pleads with the world to get out of their ivory towers and to do something about climate change.
Listening were you Rabbott? Oh that’s right, you had important things to do rather than have Australia properly represented at these climate talks.!

Paul Keating

Opinions, politics, random,
Paul Keating: a most appropriate  speech

the Australian War Memorial 11 November 2013

Paul Keating’s Remembrance Day address “Those Australians fought and died not in defence of some old world notion of competing empires and territorial conquests but for the new world – the one they belonged to and hoped to return to.

This is why Australia was never in need of any redemption at Gallipoli, any more than it was in need of one at Kokoda thirty years later.

There was nothing missing in our young nation or our idea of it that required the martial baptism of a European cataclysm to legitimise us.”

full text of his speech at Australian War Memorial

Singapore Bishan Park

green infrastructure, Urban, urban development, , , , , , , ,
Review: Landscape Architecture/ Park Design

Bishan Park Singapore

Question? Can a professional in a large bureaucracy bring about change?

bishan-park-before

The above image is of Bishan Park in Singapore until a senior landscape architect within the Parks Board had a great idea. Why not change this unattractive engineered solution back to being part of the river? Apparently he pushed hard for the idea to be taken up and eventually won the day. We visited this park in 2012 and were impressed by the difference a great idea and determination can deliver to the local population.

Continue reading Singapore Bishan Park →

Rabbott update

Opinions, politics, random
Review: Things beyond belief

rabbott01It it time to monitor the performance of our nation’s pet Rabbott now that he and his followers are inside the pen with all the assets of people of Australia to play with.

The trend is to make fools of the media – and this is a turn around given the role of the mainstream media  in promoting  the Rabbott and Murdoch messages prior to the last federal election.

Continue reading Rabbott update →

Canberra Urbanity

Urban, urban development, , ,

 Canberra’s Champs-Elysees? Get Real!

The redevelopment of Canberra’s Constitution Avenue has been long in coming and the ACT Government has today announced its plans for the next stage.

Unfortunately someone has bravely announced that it will be Canberra’s Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Does that mean there will be an equivalent of the Arc de triomphe, the avenue is to be lined with large international expensive shops, huge crowds day and night, massive amounts of traffic (four lanes each side) and a host of ever-present scammers and pick-pockets.

Continue reading Canberra Urbanity →

Art in the Streets

Arts & Culture, Urban, visual arts,
Street Art – A collection of images – in progress

Much of the current crop of graffiti and street art consists of the signatures and/or some brightly coloured clichéd scrawls. There’s also the more subtle and creative.

The latter is so much more fun. And things that bring a smile when everyone wants to be ever so serious about anything and everything, must be a good thing. Bring it on.

Continue reading Art in the Streets →

Canberra Urbanity

climate change, green infrastructure, trees, Urban, , , ,
The next Northbourne Avenue

The basics of a proposal for rethinking this important piece of Green Infrastructure

NrthBourne-P1020067The main road into Canberra from the north has been the topic of much debate following the ACT Government’s announcement that it is build a light rail with the route being from Civic to the newer suburbs of Gungahlin. In the wings sits the developer lobby as this transport initiative would provide the final green light for the major intensification of the commercial and residential buildings along the full length of Northbourne Ave

Continue reading Canberra Urbanity →

Canberra Urbanity

climate change, green infrastructure, trees, Urban, urban development, , , ,
Anzac Parade: A mixed tale of Trees and Lights

Trees are important in our urban environments. They are part of our urban green infrastructure and perform important roles assisting in health and well-being as well as climate change adaptation.

And they are just beautiful.  I like trees.

Anzac-trees01 Continue reading Canberra Urbanity →

Democracy threatened by dangerous idiots

Opinions, politics,
Politicians & their supporting media types do not know when to keep their dangerous comments to themselves!

There’s nothing more basic in our democracy as the processes that underpin the election of our governments. At the time of writing , the WA Senate election has become  complicated, not just because of the necessary recount given the closeness of the first results, but because of the unfortunate event whereby by about 1,400 previously counted votes have been misplaced.

Continue reading Democracy threatened by dangerous idiots →

Halloween

cultural, Opinions, random, ,
Why do we do this?

I do not get this one. The supermarkets and other retailers  have again attempted to convince us that Australia celebrates Halloween and we should be encouraging children and teenagers to wander around and knock on doors to demand sweets. I do not think so!

I’ll migrate that appropriate saying from that other not so relevant event: Bah Humbug.

Continue reading Halloween →

Climate Change

climate change, green infrastructure, Opinions, politics, urban development
Reform failed – so let’s try Revolution

The Australian politicians were called on to address climate change over a decade ago (at least). Local community groups have recognised the need for climate change adaptation and have been frustrated with the lack of meaningful leadership that should be offered by elected officials.

The mainstream press, as led by Murdoch, and the ABC have provided their own biased information on these complex topics. The general public has received mixed messages instead of meaningful and useful information based on the overwhelming scientific evidence.

16RegentsCanal-1100774

Continue reading Climate Change →

Canberra Urbanity

trees, Urban, urban development, , ,
The New Northbourne Avenue

There has been a bit of noise of late around the proposals that the ACT Government is to introduce a light rail system into Canberra. In the first instance the rail will connect the inner north and the newer northern suburbs through to Civic, the main CBD area.

The light rail should have been there at least 20 years ago. It will be an interesting problem to make it viable now. Some form of transit system is required but so much of the infrastructure around it will need to be also altered. The city was built for cars. Many issues to be worked through. For instance ….

Continue reading Canberra Urbanity →

Untangling The Web

Arts & Culture, books & readings, technology,
Review: Book

Untangling the Web, Aleks Krotoski 2013

If you are reading this then you are on the web. After more than twenty years of being on the web it’s timely to benchmark what is happening?

In her book, Aleks takes us through some of the questions such as just how much have we changed because of the world-wide web, Facebook, twitter and google and all internet thingys.

Do not expect her to supply you with all the answers as the internet is very much a work in progress.

 

Continue reading Untangling The Web →

those damn leaves!

random, Urban, ,
Need to rake those damn leaves!

September 2013.

Casual roaming of the neighbourhood can reveal some of the oddities of local urbanity.

First a background story. Going back several decades, there used to be tradition in Canberra that each winter the residents would rake their leaves in the street gutter and then set fire to them. The neighbourhoods were full of smoke from these frequent local burnings. Eventually the local government put a stop to this local tradition.

Continue reading those damn leaves! →