Morning Health Treat

Liquorice has medicinal value, so I felt happy consuming a packet of mini all-sorts this morning.

Rainbow Healing

After a few hours of tiring tennis, my unconventional treatment for a sore leg was rainbow light. The office water cooler was refracting the sunlight into a beautiful rainbow so I decided to test whether the magical healing powers of a rainbow would have any effect on me. After a solid two minutes standing in the light, my conclusion was a resounding perhaps. Further investigations will follow.

Solar Eclipse

This afternoon's solar eclipse happened in perfect conditions for viewing. The clouds were just thick enough to remove much of the sun's glare, but not too thick to obscure it. However my attempts at photographing it failed. This shot is through my polaroid sunglasses at the maximum of the eclipse, but the crescent sun can't be seen.

But I was able to see the event by making a pinhole camera from a shoebox. A tiny crescent sun was projected onto the back of the box, and it was spectacular but on a microscopic scale.

Domestic Time Dilation

Being at home for the last few days (thanks to the spate of public holidays, due to the unusual proximity of Easter and Anzac Day (caused by Easter's lateness (due to its determination as being on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox))), I've observed first hand the slowing and speeding up of time in a domestic setting. On a normal day, I'll jump out of bed at 7.30am, dress by 7.32am, water the front and back gardens by 7.39am, make breakfast and read the paper by 7.55am, and then leave the house for work at 7.58am. And it doesn't feel rushed. But faced with an entire day with a few sparsely spaced activities, things change. Tiny tasks take on enormous magnitude to fill up hours instead of minutes, and indecisiveness festers in the absence of a deadline.

Whereas on a working day you're forced to efficiently plough through your activities before rushing out of the front door, a slow day at home changes your perspective on time. You ponder what level of luxury cup of tea is appropriate, you can't decide whether to water the back garden, or perhaps you should check the weather and see if rain is forecast. But once the computer is on, it's important to check emails, and catch up on the latest tennis news. Oh yes, and while you're there, perhaps watch a few English tv shows on the BBC iPlayer. Soon a couple of hours go by and you still haven't watered that back garden or had breakfast. Checking the pantry and there is no bread left, so instead of making do with cereal or a yoghurt or some fruit, you definitely need a fresh ciabatta. So there goes another 45 minutes.

This must resemble retirement. Whole years go by without anything productive happening !

Tea Luxury Spectrum

It's apparent that the world is missing a meaningful method of assessing the level of luxury you're experiencing with your cup of tea. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.

1. Cold water - hardly worth mentioning, but for the strict ascetics, a cup of cold water can be regarded as a minimal cup of tea. It has the hydrating effect but none of the taste. And there's no ceremony in its preparation.
2. Hot water - some dieters prefer this to a cup of tea, but the logic escapes me. My recommendation is to use this only if you're freezing and don't have warm clothes.
3. Black tea - now we're in business. Still regarded as slightly kooky and alternative, it is nonetheless tea, with that soothing aroma. 
4. White tea - this is so English. But it's still missing something...
5. White tea with sugar. Now we're in business. The standard cuppa. 
6. White tea with sugar and shortbread. The biscuit adds that touch of excess. One or two biscuits are acceptable. Any more and you're turning a drink into a meal.
7. High tea - the pinnacle. Restrict this to more than once a year, or you'll spoil the effect.

What level of luxury do you experience? I'm normally in the 3 to 5 range. 

Quest for the Dark Tower

Stephen King's masterful Dark Tower series is an epic quest, spanning eight novels, inspired by The Lord of the Rings. And I've experienced that quest firsthand. Because no single library has all eight books, my only option has been to join new libraries, to venture far afield in foul weather, and in scorching heat. I'm two years into my journey and have finally reached book six. I had been stranded on book three for six months, but eventually my lucky break came with the discovery of Tuart Hill and its well-stocked library. Only two more books to go...

Embarassing T-Shirt

Proudly buying a new t-shirt a fortnight ago, and wearing it around town aglow with its lemony yellowness and bluey stripes, it was shocking to see the very same t-shirt being worn in a movie. Normally such an endorsement of good taste would be welcome, but in this case, Steve Carell was portraying a nerdy no-hoper prior to a makeover in Crazy, Stupid, Love, wearing MY T-SHIRT ! Damnit. So back into the closet goes that top. The only consolation was that Ryan Gosling's character in that movie was the pinnacle of masculine desirability, and my pair of sunnies were bought to imitate his look in a recent film. So I'm not entirely hopeless.

Grand Budapest Luna

This weekend's screenings of The Grand Budapest Hotel at the Luna Leederville Cinema featured actors dressed as characters from the film. A pair of woman taking too long to choose a seat were accosted by an undercover officer with a pistol who advised them "Find a seat ladies". But best of all, moving images were projected onto the facade of the theatre.

Perth Mad Men

This impressionistic day in the life of Perth has office scenes reminiscent of Mad Men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Zs6BieUZM

Historic Perth

These old documentaries featuring Perth are worth a look.

1. Perth in 1930

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IStbjtDmK1s&list=PL45EE375716CAA187

2. Perth in 1954. Featuring Floreat's The Boulevard. Bonus footie feature: Claremont vs. West Perth

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=b2TaLGlj6ig&vq=large#t=27

3. UWA in 1961

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TcC83wEOcM#t=910

If they repeated that performance in the Sunken Garden, I'd happily pay a couple of shillings for a ticket.

Skyline Drive-In Theatre

Near Reabold Hill in Floreat is the old Skyline Drive-In.

Despite closing in the mid-1980's, it's still possible to see traces of its existence. Here's a current photo from nearmap.com. The Cambridge Council is at the bottom right.

And in its heyday, in 1965:

In 1985, just prior to its demise:

In the Shell Grotto

A grotto underneath a villa on Isola Bella, an island on Lake Maggiore.

Menaggio

Another of those tedious towns on Lake Como.

UWA in 1933

Timing Sleep

Ever wanted to know precisely how long it takes to fall asleep? My technique is a boring podcast. Within minutes I'm unconscious. Last night I started listening, and this morning I only recall the first 90 seconds! But is it possible I heard more but in a half-awake state did not remember it?  

The Novelty of Rain

Not a good photo, but this is a personal reminder of sitting through the heaviest rain in five months while watching the Fremantle Dockers play Gold Coast on Saturday. Hundreds of supporters left the ground before half time after getting drenched. Wimps !

Innaloo in 1953

Woodlands and Innaloo were sparsely populated in the 1950s. There's not a single car on Scarborough Beach Road (the east-west road) or Liege Street (the north-south road on the right). There's a farm where the shopping centre now stands, and it's uncleared bushland on the future site of the cinema. This is from Landgate's map viewer.

1965 at the Drive-In

From Google Maps, here's the view from above the Metro Drive-In cinema at Innaloo in 1965. At the top right, notice the empty fields which are now Innaloo Shopping Centre. And note the lack of traffic lights and indeed almost complete absence of traffic at the intersection of Scarborough Beach Road and Liege Street at the top right.

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And here's the current view.

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                   A history of the theatre, courtesy of cinemaweb:

On 20 April 1957, M.G.M. opened the Metro Drive-in with a gala screening of High Society, attended by more than 300 notables: according to the West Australian (18 April 1957) this included 'members of Parliament, civic leaders and heads of the commerce, industry and theatrical sections of the community'. The venue was claimed to be at that time the largest in the country, with provision for 950 cars, and a holding area at the rear for a further 600 waiting for the next session. It had a four-lane entrance to the 22 acre site, and seating accommodation for 400 walk-ins. The screen was advertised as one of the two largest in Australia, at 72 feet high, and bolted into 500 tons of concrete foundation, to withstand winds of up to 80 miles per hour. A nurse was employed to supervise the children's playground, which was securely fenced. There were even attendants to treat windscreens with a water-repellant solution so the screen would remain clearly visible despite rain. Restaurant patrons could eat while they viewed through the glass windows and heard the sound broadcast over speakers. Parents could heat up baby food or bottles, and infants' changing facilities included provision for washing and drying nappies 

An interior shot of the cinema from 1981 (source):