Serendipities

Small discoveries - online, off the page and elsewhere

The Fat Man in Canberra

On the Staircase by Keld Moseholm

Noticed in Civic a week ago. This sculpture is called On the Staircase. It was created by Keld Moseholm, a Danish sculptor, in 2005. The ACT Government installed it in Petrie Plaza near David Jones in 2009 - but it seems to have lost two of it's men. You can see how the sculpture originally looked here.

I'm not sure what these fat fellows say about the benefits of reading. The caption says the artwork reflects the effect of reading on the spirit, 'the more I read the smaller I feel'. I don't agree with the sentiment. Reading enlarges my mind and my spirit and my understanding of the world ... but I love anyone who can read walking up stairs.

They also remind me of one of my favourite collections of short stories, Peter Carey's The Fat Man in History and Other Stories. It was his first book and I have never forgotten it. Might be time to read it again.

Daniel Day Lewis at the Oscars

I'm an Oscar tragic so, even though I knew who had won the major awards, I sat in front of the television watching the replay of the ceremony until 1am last Tuesday morning. At first, I convinced myself I would only watch until the 'In Memoriam' section, which is probably my favourite part of the Oscar ceremony. But having come so far, it seemed crazy not to watch to the end. And it was worth it to see Daniel Day Lewis accept his third Oscar. Read what he said - and imagine him saying it in his gentle English voice. What a great speech!

Paper and Salt

Want to know how to combine a love of literature with a love of food? Visit Paper and Salt, where New Yorker Nicole blogs literary recipes. Last week, she wrote about Jane Austen and food, and featured a recipe for Brown Butter Bread Pudding Tarts. I loved her post on Virginia Woolf and breadmaking too.

Bill Gekas and his Daughter

Maid It by Bill Gekas

Take a look at these glorious images by Australian photographer, Bill Gekas. I discovered them via Flavorwire and then, having worked my way back to Gekas's website, also discovered he lives in Melbourne. He has recently won the Gold Award at the International Loupe Awards. The images Gekas took of his five-year-old daughter, an homage to works of the Old Masters, seem to be working their way around the ether at the moment. I hope you like them too.

Serendipities

Small discoveries - online, off the page, and elsewhere

Sunflowers

I can't resist a bouquet of sunflowers. These I found on a street garden near Gorman House Markets a couple of weeks ago. If I went back today, they would probably be a bit bedraggled, screwing up their lovely open faces and getting ready to drop their seeds - that's if the cockatoos hadn't eaten them for breakfast. On the day I took the photo, the bed was full of sunflowers, the promise of a crop of pumpkins and sage.

Louis IV, the Sun King

Sunflowers always, always remind me of France's Louis IV, known to history as the 'Sun King'. He built the Palace of Versailles, some say because he hated Paris, he didn't feel safe there. This is all the excuse I need to scroll through the photos of our travels and revisit our visit to Versailles. Here are the palace gates - looking very golden even on a gray winter's day.

The gates of Versailles, December 2012

You can find out all sorts of things about the Palace of Versailles here. But here is my traveller's tip: don't just visit for the day. The palace is incredible (and really needs more than a day to fully explore the grounds) but the town that has grown up around the palace is worth some time of it's own. With more time, you could, for example, visit the King's Kitchen Garden or the Antique Dealers' District.

The Dangers of Literary Lectures

Have you heard what Hilary Mantel said about the Duchess of Cambridge? Well, Twitter lead me to this terrific essay on the dangers of literary lectures and being reported out of context, which has been published in The New Yorker. Even if you're not interested in all the bookish examples, scroll to the end to read Mantel's comparison of the Royal family to pandas - it tells you a lot about the context in which her comments were originally delivered and it may make you smile.

Famous Resolutions

The fabulous Brain Pickings continues to bring me serendipitous moments of joy. I haven't made any new year's resolutions yet - the year is still young. But if you've ever wondered about the resolutions Marilyn Monroe and Jonathan Swift made, take a peak here. My favourites today come from Woody Guthrie:

Stay glad ... Dream good ... Dance better.