TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

  

VIEWING ALL POSTS FOR: MAY 2006

Thursday, May 25, 2006

5:52 PM
Posted by jodi rose

another day at the office...
created a 1585 turkish/hungarian battle scene for radio today, and a vignette of 1000 drunk slovak soldiers in the town. russell usually steers clear of the old cart fx, knowing the eccentric sound guys and how they made them, but I have no fear - and they turn up unexpected gems. crowd with slaves whipped came in particularly handy today for the shouts of agony in battle - although we had to cut all the ruler slapping sounds.
having a lot of fun with the program, although a little scared of the audio diary entries still to edit - the sound of my voice keeps putting me to sleep. not a good look for the radio. unless you're doing an insomniac program.

just had drinks on level 5, for nick f who is off on long service leave next week - steven told me I should apply for some, you've been here long enough. not quite, I replied, only two years - well, it feels like longer. gee, thanks - I think. Brent offered the services of Attila, young Hungarian radio student who may come in and record some battle cries and poetic text for those esoteric border crossing moments.
our floor distinctly over-represented in the protest about the cleaners' contracts yesterday afternoon - some great songs and chants, 'you can't stop the cleaners, nobody can stop the cleaners' etc. but it's the thin edge of the wedge, reminds me how lucky I am to be freelance and self-employed. Brent told me about hearing the blog prize announced on radio, how they were really hyping it up, and then I was so excited - he said it made him feel high just listening to me. How funny. Robin told me the news report she heard really played up the abc connection, so I understand a bit more how all that furore lit up.
Debating wether to go down to the quay for writers festival tonight, although the talks I'm most interested in were during the day.
Maybe tomorrow - really feel like getting out amongst it. Light, colour, movement. Again seem to spend all my time either in the studio or walking between home and ultimo and then sleeping. Would love to have a social life here, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Heard that a study on australian life recently found people believe that we are having less fun than we were twenty years ago - corinne on the glass house pointed out that was the year of Chernobyl, height of the cold war and some other not so great things - but it does feel like that.
In conversation with sarah w last week at dinner, a similar thing came up - especially people in sydney being just too busy for fun. And it really is one of life's essentials, or why do we bother. Planning some good silly art projects, and just getting through the days for now.
And the nights, but that's another story. It's a glamorous life on the floor at darlington. Still, this disconnection from security and the 'normal' world is what allows me to make these flights of pure fancy, although worrying that I'm losing my facilities. But then, Brent just raved about a writer whose work is 'scrambled and messy' and I thought, hey! I can do that!! Just stop trying to make it coherent.
It's all such a kaledeiscope in my brain anyway, and if you're going for an authentic voice, then this is it. I remember having a foot-writing competition with friends many years ago (when we had time for fun) and the 'judge' applauding my work - insanely demented scribbles - as being probably the closest to what was inside my head. Indeed.
If only it wasn't so dark in there some days. Let the light in...

Sunday, May 21, 2006

11:02 PM
Posted by jodi rose

yay finland!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

10:37 PM
Posted by jodi rose

taking time out for silliness.
apparently it's crucial to enjoyment of life.
very excited, finland is way ahead in the eurovision song contest final voting, the very out-there monster metal band 'lordi' with their crazy rubber monster outfits and hard rock hallelujah. causing a stir in finland with people outraged at this reflection on finnish society and calling for the song to be banned for it's alleged satanic content.
reading all kinds of texts about happiness lately, from the world happiness index - not necessarily linked to gdp or standard of living, apparently mexico has the highest happiness rating in the world - some kind of satisfaction plateau is reached at a certain level and then frustration sets in when new goals are not achieved. so best be poor and happy. although as mae west says, I've been rich and I've been poor and believe me, rich is more fun. and the inspirational book on happiness giving the insight - if you want to be happy, then... be happy! something else - ah yes, ruth ostrow in her column talking about the 80/20 rule and how you have to let the wild child out to have fun 20% of the time or you get way depressed.
ah yes, I'm trying to take that all on, but just keep slipping back into melancholy. everything a bit much, too many scattered projects and not enough time to recover or replenish my soul. back to eurovision.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

9:45 PM
Posted by jodi rose

blurry today. car train airport taxi train walk train back in sydney.

got home in time for lisa's film premier as part of message sticks, at the opera house, about lapa (la perouse) panthers football team. very cool.
enjoyed the walk back round the quay, harbour lights keeping me company. still flat and existentially worn-out. realised partly need a new hobby. thinking about painting after inspiring conversation with sue. something very appealing about playing with colours and textures. not having to organise anything or get dusty on building sites or sit in front of a screen all day. funny how your life looks so glamorous from the outside (apparently!) meanwhile dreaming of stability and a home.
while a friend dreams of adventure and escape from the mundane. the everyday is ok, as long as it's on your own terms, and you can leave.
the sense of being stuck in a situation is what makes it unbearable.

right now I'm not coping very well. this constant travel is doing my head in. especially without the resources to do it in style. money is such a buffer. ah well, it all goes on flights and gadgets. lucky to have em I know. talking to the head of a media arts org in sydney tonight, he surprised me by being passionately committed to using public transport, getting around town to high-level meetings on the bus. well, that gives another perspective to my week in brisbane finding my way from the cultural centre busway out to various places. not so tragic.

dreaming of a room by the ocean with magnificent storms and light.
and an umbrella. figuratively speaking.

Friday, May 12, 2006

11:14 PM
Posted by jodi rose

last day of intense bridge testing.
brainmelt.
sifting through the various tech connections, returned all the borrowed equipment, handed in my hard hat and went to see japanese art.
lush industrial - urban photography and the coolest toys ever.
still arced up from all that mental strain, and adrenalin filled buffy.
sleeeeeeeeeep

Thursday, May 11, 2006

6:16 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Learning to decode the bridge terms - 6M2S = Pier 6, Main span, Cable 2, Southside. In case you were wondering ;)

That's where my first recording took place on Tuesday - May 9 Act of God day according to the Brisbane Courier Mail, with the miners rescue after their fortnight in the hellmouth, and the family lost at sea for 22 days off the Northern Territory.

In other news a qld film and video teacher was arrested for having explosives in his house.

A sobering glimpse into how it can go horribly wrong with the ongoing Critical Art Ensemble case.

Interesting juxtaposition with the exhibition I saw at city hall, musuem of brisbane yesterday in a few spare hours between tech treks - one of which was out near Sunnybank (oh Buffy where are you now!??!) reminding me of a newspaper story about QLD goths a few years ago (all that sunshine would turn me into a vampire too!)

Taking to the Streets

Fascinating range of material in the excellent 'Taking to the Streets' about political protest in Brisbane 1965 - 85. And there was a lot to protest about, starting with the referendum on Aboriginal rights (to be citizens of their own country with the vote in 1967) and moving through environmental concerns (nuclear testing in the pacific, logging, mining) to women's rights (for abortion, and reclaiming the streets at night), and including the Bjelke-Peterson governments repressive street protest laws, with an amazing range of posters, badges, banners, fliers and video stories. It felt trangely empowering to be reminded of all that subversive energy making an impact on the world, people fighting for their beliefs, for justice and peace, especially when public life today often seems so incredibly cynical and banal. Although we don't have to wait twenty years to see the counterculture or underground movements happening today, they're everywhere - if you know where to look. Some great stories from local Brisbane activists on current activities in the downstairs room too, along with an excellent doco on 4ZZZ radio, who, after years of being called 'ratbag rabble rousing lefty conspiracy theorists' were vindicated in the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which found QLD politics and police force really was steeped in corruption and self-interest.

4ZZZ
Fitzgerald Inquiry

The wheel turns, and criticising authority once again becomes a calculated risk. Or is it always?

Speaking of authority, I've had weeks now of dealing with 'experts' - from three universities and five specialist manufacturer/supplies; not one of whom could tell me a remotely practical way of getting sound from an accelerometer. The usual option of capturing the data, analysing and converting it to wav files just seemed rife with pitfalls. Then I went to see Terry at Davidsons Measurement specialists, and he said - try this - and gave me a simple bnc-rca cable which does the job. Simple, easy, cheap ($3.98 per adaptor at an electronics store) and effective. Although it's not entirely foolproof - some nasty electrical buzz or hum, but I think that's from the cheap radio shack cable, and with a professional sound cable hope it will have better signal to noise ratio. At least I can now conceptualise how to do it.
He obviously thought I had an honest face, handing over $1200 worth of equipment for testing with the barest of formalities.

The sounds from the accelerometer are way more nuanced and subtle, with greater clarity and frequency range than any of the contact mikes I've tried. So am on the right track, and in the process becoming the worlds leading expert on live bridge cable vibration sound art ;)
It amuses me to listen to some of the expert engineers who say to me, no that won't work - largely because they can't imagine it. But I try and I try, and often, it does work. A reminder not to listen to experts, or to let them stop you doing something - try it yourself and see.

I had this conversation with Bridget a while back, about failure of the imagination being the leading cause of getting stuck in a rut. Thankfully it's been a while since I climbed out of mine and started imagining a new challenging adventure filled life - now working on the next chapters. Keep dreaming, keep dancing, keep smiling. One of the workers serenaded me from the bridge deck with 'the hills are alive' and I offered to include the construction crew singing in the final work.
Not sure they're that keen to be singing bridge workers, but most are definitely intrigued by the singing bridge idea, although one guy told me he prefers blues during my first test the other day.

All this punctuated by back-to-back episodes of
Buffy, kick-ass vampire slayer and demon fighter, who still gets miserable over a boy. Love it. Smart, sassy, fun, frightening, the best oneliners. Season 4 which I somehow missed completely and explains a lot, from the chip in Spike's head to Anya and Xander:

Anya (to Xander): "I like you. You're funny and you're nicely shaped, and frankly it's ludicrous to have these interlocking bodies and not... interlock. Please remove your clothing now."

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

10:23 AM
Posted by jodi rose

another electrical engineer

'it takes courages to do what you want.
Other people have a lot of plans for you.'

says joseph campbell in the book on happiness I'm reading between Buffy marathon and visits to collect and test high tech scientific measuring devices. Going out to UQ this morning, then 8 Mile Plain for a variety of solutions to the accelerometer question.

Planning to drop by RAW art space and City Hall for culture and exhibition on political activism in brisbane during the Joh years.

Had a productive meeting yesterday with all people involved in the key aspects of the permenant bridge installation, now we're talking the same language, if slightly different dialects.

Steve and John (Project mgr and head engineer for the bridge) took me to lunch and we ended up at the Forest, vegan restaurant in the West End - unexpected, but they were great company, and completely unfazed by the macrobiotic food and dim loungey atmosphere.

Am feeling very empowered by all these high-level meetings and the extremely concrete nature of the installation, coming to terms with very specialised measurement concepts and really ready to complete the shift from 'artist' to 'director' or 'project manager' of this global bridge endeavour. Think it's necessary, there's an element of humility and hat-in-hand 'please sir can I have some more' when coming from the artist position, whereas once you work up some status and business negotiations credibility, you stand in a much better place for high level trans-national inter-corporation leverage. Here goes...

During all this, am continueing to work on finding a still place amidst constant change and movement. A space to float AND be grounded.
Raqs have great things to say about nomadism - will quote later.

Reading articles about their ideas and work on my way to meet Steve at the UNSW vibration research lab last week, enjoyed the contrast.

It's fun having all these people working to achieve my idea!
Back to the bridge...

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

10:23 AM
Posted by jodi rose

bon voyage gingja ma!

have a fabulous time in ougadougo!!

xx

Monday, May 8, 2006

9:15 PM
Posted by jodi rose

enticed by sounds of buffy in the next room
arrived brisbane to meetings with consulant, another vibration engineer, dinner at home with sia and nigel.
had to share the site with everything.

Monday, May 8, 2006

9:14 PM
Posted by jodi rose

whirlwind sydney melbourne
tuesday night collapsed after intense osteo treatment. induced whole new level of relaxation.
crashcourse in accelerometers with steve at unsw
almost got my head around them now
can't remember anything anymore
flying to melbourne q radio for some reason ben lee song resonated. we are all in this together.

Monday, May 1, 2006

10:45 AM
Posted by jodi rose

brain melt.
another busy weekend, alternating time in protools booth with trip to storage - where I found a whole wardrobe of forgotten clothes without having to buy a thing; then dropped into the warehouse party saturday night but distinctly underwhelmed by the vibe (cooler-than-thou wannabe gypsy/circus style, one girl smiled at me in the hour we were there) and music (wannabe avant-folk-european-gyspy played by very competent musicians in 30's suits and hats, but just didn't swing it for me - having heard ghymes, masfel and some of the 'authentic' eastern european avant-gypsy-folk.. oh dear am I being elitist? surely not!)

Sunday came in early to get a few minidisks out of the way before meeting lisa for yum-cha with phil and nadia, who leave next week for their 6 month jaunt. Chinatown on sunday morning was buzzing, people everywhere, a busker combo playing laptop and didgeridoo, woman blessed herself with water dripping from the golden tongue in the strange gold tree sculpture, the place we chose promised vegetarian options but none ever came, so we ordered broccoli and tofu wraps. Reacquainted myself with those delicious chinese custard tarts. mmm.

Another few hours work, then met lisa again to whisper for alex d in a group of 16 (more of the coolest kids in town!) playing chinese whispers in uts studio. That was fun, lots of laughing and ridiculous messages, look forward to hearing the work in his 16 channel surround sound set-up at the exhibition in a few weeks at Artspace. Interesting ideas about how information gets mangled and misconstrued along the way, many of the sentences were bizarre newspaper reports, or recent events, and some from the bible, one ended with buying satan an icecream.

Walked over to Glebe for dinner with cousin Kim, in her cosy, brightly coloured flat, had noodles and crock-pot bread and butter pudding (yes, that's my dessert allowance for the next week gone ina day!) then watched abc program on Saladin (Salah Ad Din) the Muslim leader who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 or so, and showed the values of his faith and mercy by cleansing the city not with Christian blood, but with rosewater. He's the hero of our nephew, Yusuf, and the doco provided a good introduction to his life and events. It's interesting learning more about the history and tensions in the family, in particular the Shaw heritage from Scotland. Damn and I just erased the name from my birth certificate too! Still, that doesn't change the descendancy, great-grandfather Percy Shaw, have to find out from my auntie if he was from the lowland or highland branch of the name. Kim tells me the crest is a bloodied arm holding an axe, and the motto: 'we slaughter all in our path' but I can only find an arm with sword and motto "Fide et fortudine" meaning "By faith and fortitude" or "By faith and fidelity". The tartan is a lovely dark green and purple with a red stripe, and there are reportedly connections to the Earl of Fife, although it could also be persons residing near a 'shaw' or thicket, as in Pollockshaws in Glasgow. (The example they gave, and strangely where I had my passport stolen...)
Missed having such a strong a sense of continuity and groundedness seeing Kim so connected to the people in her life. She promised me that when I do decide to stay in one place, I'll make those regular connections again quickly - that would be nice. I'm appreciating her efforts to see me when I'm in town, although she said it's taken a while to adjust to the sonic nomad thing, but now just checks the diary and emails invitations at appropriate times. It's lovely not to be the one who always has to get in touch; there are times when it's just too much effort to ring people again and try to fit into their busy lives, so end up not seeing them.

Ah well, I'm always somewhere, and at least have all my limbs, organs, senses, free will, free choice, freedom of speech - so guess I'd better stop complaining and get on with living, expressing and communicating!