Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, July 26, 2014,
There's a proposed Perth International Arts Festival production that sounds very intriguing. It will be part of the Anzac Centenary commemorations and will feature some giant puppets expertly crafted by Frenchmen.
Now, this sounds extremely unusual. Don't know about you, but the first thing that comes to my mind when someone says "giant puppet" is
stupid shouty bolshie protest. I also think: crap creations that don't look remotely like the eeevil hate figures they're meant to represent (namely...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, July 23, 2014,
Troy Buswell is in the news again, this time over alleged hush money paid to a woman whose car he smashed into on that notorious night of drunkenness
several months ago. Yet again, Premier Colin Barnett is exasperated by his friend's behaviour.
This time he's even come out and directly criticized the decision to offer the woman money. He's also expressed his frustration over the fact that Buswell hasn't personally paid for the damage to his ministerial car.
This ambivalent reaction is typical...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, April 30, 2014,
There's no denying that politics is a blood sport and that anyone who wants to be treated with kid gloves should give the profession a wide berth. That said, there should be some standards.
For example, indulging in sledges that equate your political enemies with violent low life criminals is unbecoming. That's just what Labor Leader Mark McGowan has done to disgraced former State Treasurer Troy Buswell in an attack referring to the latter's recent behaviour in the aftermath of his disastrous ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, February 28, 2014,
Colin Barnett certainly dominates politics in this state. No matter how hard his Labor opponents try, they just can't seem to land a punch on him. Desperate to turn voters against him, they constantly repeat this line that he's arrogant and out of touch. I don't think this is a majority view, nor will it ever be. Still, it is certainly proliferating.
And I think it was one of the main reasons recent anti-shark-cull protests were so crowded. A substantial proportion of the crowd were not full-...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 11, 2013,
As I mentioned in a previous post, Christmas here in Perth
always seems odd. We are bombarded with all this northern hemisphere winter imagery at the hottest time of the year. And a recent local event adds sinister absurdity to the general incongruity.
See, a bloke dressed as Santa Claus robbed the post office on Wanneroo Rd in Tuart Hill. It lends itself to humour, but it must have been anything but funny for the staff involved.
And I'm sure the cops who nabbed the alleged perpetrator
weren'... Continue reading ...
Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, October 19, 2013,
I noticed a profile of well known local fashion designer Aurelio Costarella in this weekend's
West Australian. It was designed to complement an upcoming exhibition of his work called
Aurelio Costarella: A 30 Year Retrospective.
I usually ignore this type of article, but I read this one right through. See, I actually went to Mt Lawley High School with Aurelio -- or Ray as we called him at the time. I didn't know him well. But he was in a few of my classes.
It doesn't surprise me that he's been...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, September 2, 2013,
Lately, I've been heading regularly into the northern suburbs and have been dropping into the McDonalds on the corner of Morley Drive and Wanneroo Rd. It's surely one of the biggest and busiest Maccas restaurants in this city.
The reason I'm blogging about it is because I like the atmosphere in there. (I know that foodies and hipsters would be aghast to hear that, but so be it!). I hardly ever order a meal there, but I will always have a short black.
I'm not exactly a coffee afficionado but I ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, July 15, 2013,
If you drive over the causeway from Vic Park into the Perth CBD you have probably noticed a tram sculpture in McCallum Park, just near the Swan River. I was curious about this and had a closer look recently.
It appears to have been built in a location that was part of Perth's original
tram network. The placard on the work itself says it's part of the Tram Stop Trail Project along Albany Highway and was installed in 2001. I think that other intended stages of this project haven't materialized ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, April 18, 2013,
Dennis Jensen, the member for Tangney, is the latest politician to be embroiled in a Twitter storm. He was involved in some snarkiness on the
subject of colonialism:
The Tangney MHR told TheKooriWoman to “get over” colonialism, saying “every country in the world has been successfully invaded in the past!” in a tweet yesterday.
“Do I snap my fingers and forget 213 years of oppression Mr Jensen?,” she replied.
His comeback was: “So you have personally lived 213 years? Work out ways t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, March 13, 2013,
I recently found this page about how Scarborough Beach has been seen as our own version of Bondi Beach since
as far back as 1939. Of course in those days the comparison mainly related to how popular these two surf beaches were with families during summer.
Nowadays, they have more in common, such as the population density of both suburbs. Needless to say Bondi is the more crowded suburb of the two by far. There are countless units right near the water. Most have been there for decades, and man...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, March 5, 2013,
Colin Barnett is pretty much a dead cert to retain his job as Premier of Western Australia on March 9. He's been at the helm of a booming state for a while now and he's been a competent and confident leader. Of course state issues are different to federal ones but they do influence each other. And the Libs are certainly capitalizing on the dysfunction in Canberra. I've seen at least one ad that reminds West Aussies about what a mess the current Australian Government is in. This will be highly...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, December 21, 2012,
While I think that the Perth Arena itself is quite an
impressive building I can't say I'm much of a fan of the robotic sculpture nearby known as "Totem".
While it is composed of tiles in much the same way as the building itself it doesn't seem to be an organic part of the whole structure. It's just sort of plonked there outside. I don't like that particular shade of yellow, either. While it does stand out against the blue and grey of the main structure the effect is not aesthetically pleasing....
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 5, 2012,
Numerous big luxury apartment blocks have been built in Perth over the last several years. Perhaps the most impressive and well located of these are the Equus Apartments at 580 Hay St.
The main entrance is right opposite the Perth Town Hall. I recall that exact location very well, because it was where Cinema City used to be. That was built in the late seventies as I recall and there was a lot of excitement about it at the time. I saw dozens of movies there over the years. (I think the last one...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, November 5, 2012,
When starting this blog I kept returning to the Perth Entertainment Centre as it was
being demolished. Similarly, I've posted about the
Perth Arena. I did this because I felt that the destruction of the former coinciding with the construction of the latter was a good metaphor for how Perth
was changing. (I even had a photo of each project on this site's
main page for a while, but took them down because they didn't seem to sit right next to the text.)
It seems I'm not the only one who felt this...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, October 24, 2012,
A few weeks ago I was wandering down towards the Swan River in Mosman Park when I came across a sculpture of a dragonfly. It was quite a striking creation in a picturesque setting.
From the plaque at its base I learned that it was comparatively new. Created by
Ben Juniper, it was erected there in 2011.
But it seems that there's has been some controversy about it -- at least soon after
it was placed there.
Some residents complained that Dragonfly, with an installed height of 5.7m and a wingspan... Continue reading ...
Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 26, 2012,
Out of control parties are a scourge in this city. The Government has tabled new legislation to crack down on the problem. Part of it involves punishing the party holders if things get
out of hand.
Under the proposed laws, a person who organises a gathering of 12 people - at which two people break the law - could face a year in jail or a $12,000 fine and an additional penalty of paying back the cost of police resources.Not surprisingly the Civil Liberties Council of WA has deemed the laws ove...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, June 17, 2012,
Back in
the mid eighties there was a very popular nightclub in Northbridge called the Red Parrot. It really was the place to be seen for quite some time.
I was only in my early twenties back then, so the whole concept of clubbing was alluring to me and I went a few times. One time, I vaguely recall there being a lot of excitement about the members of
the band Duran Duran arriving after the show. I think I actually saw one of them slouched against the bar -- although of course it could have bee...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, June 16, 2012,
Thirty years ago I was studying at the University of WA. Aside from the tavern on the campus grounds, one very popular pub was Steve's Nedlands Park Hotel, down near the water at the end of Broadway.
It seemed to me quite a grand and distinctive building that dominated the surrounding area, with a completely clear view to the Swan River.
Obviously a lot happens in several decades. But when I went there about 18 months ago I was still stunned to see how much that whole area had changed. The hote...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, June 8, 2012,
Still on the subject of Fremantle and how its obvious sense of history can jar with other aspects of the place: One very distinctive and highly visible old building is the Flag and Whistle Hotel in Beach Street.
This is very close to the railway line and quite near the station itself. You can see it clearly from the train as you travel in or out of Freo.
It's a beautifully ramshackle old pub. I'm not sure if it's currently being used as such. But it certainly was a few years ago because I went ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, April 23, 2012,
Fremantle, south of Perth, is a hub for greenies, lefties, and other alternative lifestyle types who aren't exactly big fans of major new developments. But several such projects have already been completed in the area, with many more currently being constructed -- and others still on the drawing board, no doubt. I can imagine many of the locals being absolutely livid about this.
The Northbank precinct of North Fremantle is perhaps the most visible of these sites. You can see it very clearly f...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 20, 2012,
Terrace Road is right near the centre of the CBD, just near the Perth Concert Hall and the Duxton Hotel. There are several old apartment blocks on that road that have a great view of the Swan River and South Perth. They've been significantly refurbished in recent years.
I've wandered down that road a few times now and it always brings back fond memories of my childhood. Back in the seventies, after my parents separated, my father moved into one of these flats. My sister and I would stay there ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, March 26, 2012,
Huge, out of control parties are not isolated to Perth, of course. However, this city does seem to have far more than its fair share of them. When I was living in Sydney there were reports of such events, but not nearly as many as I've been reading about in the papers over here lately.
Last weekend several such events occurred. In one of them held in
Balga a policeman was knocked unconscious. It's alarming that anyone would be so out of control, but it's worse that the kick was delivered
by a ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, January 14, 2012,
Not unlike the Daglish station nearby, the railway station at Shenton Park is covered in many
colourful murals. It seems that the ones now present are a second edition. (The first batch were painted back in 1998, but peeled away
over the years.)
This photo shows the station from the western side.
Here's the view as you walk down the steps into the station.
The artwork on this side is generally train-related (appropriate considering the location!).
Then it becomes a pretty wacky and surreal sce...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 21, 2011,
I picked up a recent issue of the
Subiaco Post and read a story about a project being conducted by the Public Transport Authority. The tactic was to deter graffiti taggers by beating them to it,
so to speak. But instead of putting up the usual ugly symbols, they would commission images that were aesthetically pleasing to passengers.
Urban artist Drew Straker created the works at Daglish station that were mentioned in the article. It seems he's been doing this
for a while now.
The photo publish...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, October 27, 2011,
One alarming social phenomenon that has been getting a lot of justifiable media coverage in Perth lately is the rise in drug use in general and the "ice" epidemic in particular. Not only are more and more people using this hugely powerful and damaging drug, but many are making it in makeshift labs in the suburbs of Perth. These seem to explode at almost regular intervals.
Related to this are the numerous robberies of various shops that occur from time to time. I'm not sure exactly how many ar...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
Perth is obviously undergoing great change at the moment. That's exciting. But it's also nice to see certain buildings, structures and landmarks that have been in much the same condition for as long as you can remember. One of these is the Lincoln Street Ventilation Stack in
Highgate.
From time to time back in the seventies and eighties I would go near it and it always caught my eye. I never knew what its function was, however. I was a bit curious, but never enough to actually do some research...
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