Posted in Sydney sparks

A day at the Zoo

I love the zoo. I especially love our zoo, Taronga, here in Sydney. I know that zoos aren’t universally popular or politically correct, but I know enough about Taronga to know that they’re making a huge effort to make the animals’ zoo lives as interesting, healthy and fun as possible – and same goes for the visitors. And behind the scenes, they raise a lot of cash for important conservation work and run many important breeding programs.

(As an aside, they also run the incredible Roar & Snore program, with an overnight stay at the Zoo – glamping all the way – and several amazing behind-the-scenes tours with keepers. I’ve been twice and can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re looking for a unique gift or Sydney experience.) Here’s a pic of the set up from the Roar & Snore site, in case you don’t believe me!

Uh huh.
Uh huh.

Anyways, it was a lovely sunny day in Sydney yesterday, so I took myself off for a trip to the Zoo. Along with a lot of other people in Sydney, it seemed. It’s not an old-school zoo, so it doesn’t feel like you’re visiting the animals in jail – although judging by the many fools who climbed into the kangaroos’ area, some sort of electric shock system for idiot visitors might be in order. (I did wait around for a bit to see if the larger kangaroos might take matters into their own hands and kick the people out – literally – but they were very patient and polite hosts.)

Here are some pics from my day at the Zoo – if you haven’t been, or if you haven’t been for a while, then I reckon it’s definitely worth a visit on a sunny day!

Such a poser - this Rhinoceros Iguana was really working it for the camera. Or the sun.
Such a poser – this Rhinoceros Iguana was really working it for the camera. Or the sun.
It's a bit blurry, but I like to think this Lawson's Bearded Dragon was trying to lead his mates in a daring escape attempt.
It’s a bit blurry, but I like to think this Lawson’s Bearded Dragon was trying to lead his mates in a daring escape attempt.
And this is the brilliantly named FIERCE SNAKE. The most venemous land snake in the world, apparently, so he definitely lives up to his name.
And this is the brilliantly named FIERCE SNAKE. The most venomous land snake in the world, apparently, so he definitely lives up to his name. And the venom in one bite can kill 200,000 mice, so they say. Hope that’s toughened glass right there. 
Here are two Red Bellied Black Snakes getting close. And they don't have a rainbow scale pattern, that's a reflection from the glass, sorry!
Here are two Red Bellied Black Snakes getting close. And they don’t have a rainbow scale pattern, that’s a reflection from the glass, sorry! As is the creepy giant hand in the top right corner. 
I like this photo because the Short Necked Turtle was coming right at me. Also because he sort of looks to be wearing a little girl's shoe.
I like this photo because the Short Necked Turtle was coming right at me. Also because he looks to be wearing a little girl’s shoe.
Now that's a meal with a view, lucky giraffe.
Now that’s a meal with a bzillion dollar harbour view, lucky giraffe.
Some days, I feel the same, Chimps.
Some days, I feel just the same, Chimps.
Where the Chimpanzee enclosure meets the Human enclosure.
Where the Chimpanzee enclosure meets the Human enclosure.

 

The old elephant enclosure - they've moved out, but it's still a beautiful building.
The old elephant enclosure – they’ve moved out, but it’s still a beautiful building.

 

A Zoo with a View.
A Zoo with a View.
Just some of the crowd at the Zoo.
Just some of the crowd at the Zoo.

If you’re interested, you can check out the Taronga Zoo website here and the Roar & Snore info is here.

Posted in Sparks at work, WWWhat?

StockPhoto Man – Another Sighting

You may recall my recent post whereby I exposed the fraud that is StockPhoto Man – the guy promoting everything from superannuation to corporate reports to THE CAMINO. Well, my eagle-eyed friend Steph (aka ‘Color Run Steph’ or ‘Camino Steph’ as she’s known in my family) has discovered our old mate StockPhoto Man promoting diversity & inclusion on a corporate training site. The image was attached to an email from Steph with the intriguing subject: Stock photo man speaks up about unlawful behaviour… I have edited the image to protect the organisation and to highlight StockPhoto Man, just in case you couldn’t identify him amongst all of the other diversity-friendly work colleagues…

I am inspired – the hunt is on and I’m asking for your help. Please keep your eyes wide open and email me any pics you find of StockPhoto Man doing his thing. I would like to put together a CV of sorts for him – a tribute to his many guises. So far, we have Camino Trekker and Corporate Colleague (endorsing lawful behaviour)…but I think the sky is the limit for our StockPhoto Man…who knows where will he turn up next?

We see you, StockPhoto Man.
We see you, StockPhoto Man.
Posted in Sydney sparks

Foggy Sydney

Today is a super foggy day in Sydney. As in a crazy pea-soup, cancel-the-ferries, can’t-see-more-than-100m, where-has-the-city-gone kinda foggy day. Normally, the fog rolls away pretty early on (where to? I don’t know), but it’s only just starting to lighten up now and it’s after 10am as I write this. I went for a walk around to Mosman Bay this morning and it was actually a bit spooky, a little bit Jane Austen-ish with all the mist swirling around. Sharing photos of fog is kind of like talking about last night’s amazing dreams – it means a lot less to you if you weren’t actually there. So, I’ve limited my snaps from this morning…

Normally a great spot to sit and admire the city. Not today though.
Normally a great spot to sit and admire the city. Not today though.
Woooooooo (that's a scary ghost noise)...
Woooooooo (that’s a scary ghost noise)…
Ghostly boats in Mosman Bay...
Ghostly (and sometimes ghastly) boats in Mosman Bay…
A foggy bay on a foggy day.
A foggy bay on a foggy day.
Starting to clear as I walked home - can just see the Manly Ferry, back in action.
Starting to clear – can just see the Manly Ferry, back in action.
Posted in Arty sparks

Sydney Saturday: Art and the Garden

On Saturday, my friend Jane and I hopped on the Art Gallery’s Art Bus with some other cool kids (not really) and went on a tour of some galleries around Sydney. Not the ooh la la, please buy an expensive catalogue, don’t touch the white walls kinda galleries, but spaces for emerging artists. The focus for this Art Bus trip was photography and, although not all of it was my cup of tea, it was interesting to visit some different places and see some (very) different art. A great way to spend an afternoon – you can check out more about the Art Bus (and our amazing Gallery) here.

It was a beautiful autumn day on Saturday and before our bus trip we wandered around the Botanic Gardens. Another amazing Sydney place (that is completely free to enjoy!) that I love, but don’t visit often enough. Jane was keen to show me some of the work of the Gardens’ 2012 Artist in Residence, Phillippa Carnemolla. There are some fantastic pieces of Phillippa’s jewellery for sale in the Gardens’ shop, inspired by plants and bugs and other stuff that Phillippa encountered during her year in the Gardens (not literally, am fairly sure she didn’t have to live up in a treehouse or anything).

The Breathing Conifer
The Breathing Conifer

The highlight was the centrepiece of Phillippa’s work – the Breathing Conifer. It was designed by Phillippa and made with the help of a lot of kids who would otherwise not have been involved in art – kids from respite centres, youth groups & disability programs. They helped by colouring in all of those beautiful panels and the Conifer now hangs in the Fernery of the Gardens. They say that it ‘pulses with a gentle heartbeat’ and it’s kinda true – there is a mechanism inside it that inflates and deflates the Conifer and it is very calming as you relax your breathing to match it. Just the thing for those stressed out office workers in the ‘hood.

If you’re in or around the Gardens, I highly recommend checking it out – especially if you could do with some de-stressing. You can read more about it on the Gardens’ website here.

Posted in Musical sparks

Eurovision, part deux

I know that Eurovision isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so I will try to make this my last post on the topic. For 2013, at least. (Unless we can arrange a world tour for the fabulous Cezar from Romania – see yesterday’s post if you missed his performance – in which case, I will be posting daily to keep the dream alive.) Anyways, there really were so many astonishing acts this year that I can’t do them justice without boring you to tears.

So, I’ll stick with my top three – Cezar from Romania (the star of yesterday’s post), Farid Mammadov from Azerbaijan (and his mirror box-dancing friend, the unsung hero of the piece) and Krista Siegfrids from Finland with ‘Marry Me’ (which sounds more like the declaration of a crazy stalker than a woman in love).

I haven’t even included the 95 year old guy from Greece, or the voluptuous yet bookish-looking lady from Israel, or the whispering hipster from Hungary, but you can check them out at eurovision.tv if you’re curious (and you really should be).

Without further ado, here are the clips for Azerbaijan and Finland – and if you can’t bring yourself to watch the videos, at least check out the lyrics to ‘Marry Me’, below. They say the song is for marriage equality (the end of the performance was a bit of a hint, I guess), but I say these lyrics are about so much more.


Marry Me

Spying on you undercover, drinking coffee with your mother
Am I getting closer?

Baby, I feel like a sinner, skipping dinner to get thinner
Where is my proposal?

I’m your slave and you’re my master
Oh baby, come on, take your shot

So marry me, I’ll be your queen bee
I’ll love you endlessly
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me, baby

I’ll play your game, I’ll change my last name
I’ll walk the walk of shame
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me baby

Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong

I know where the future’s heading, I can see my perfect wedding
Isn’t that just bracing?
I don’t think there are no ladies who will give you cuter babies
Isn’t that amazing?

I’m your slave and you’re my master
Oh baby, come on, take your shot

So marry me, I’ll be your queen bee
I’ll love you endlessly
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me, baby

I’ll play your game, I’ll change my last name
I’ll walk the walk of shame
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me baby

Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong

This is the day, I don’t wanna wait much longer now
If you run away, I’m gonna find you anyhow
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
Whatchu waiting, whatchu waiting
Whatchu waiting, whatchu waiting for?

So marry me, I’ll be your queen bee
I’ll love you endlessly
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me, baby

I’ll play your game, I’ll change my last name
I’ll walk the walk of shame
I do it for you, for you, for you
Yeah, I do it for you, marry me baby

Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, ding dong
Oh oh, oh oh oh, ding dong